2 Secrets that live amongst us
by bettyloupete
Summary: Sequel to my story called, "The Concert Heist". Amy is now in her 2nd year at Harvard. Jake is a Junior. They are called in to help investigate a clue with many Cahill ties to solve an ancient mystery. I tried to use as many real places and real people as possible. Rated M, so be warned.
1. Chapter 1

This story takes place a year after "The Concert Heist". I encourage you to read that story first to make sense of this one. Think of this as the sequel.

Ch 1

One of the last truly spectacular autumn days shown its early light through the trees outside Amy's bedroom casting lacy shadows on the wall. Jake woke first, as per usual. He stretched, yawned and glanced to his left. The love of his life lay on her left side, her back to him; her long cascade of amber hair draped behind her across the pillow. Jake's heart warmed to see her lying there. At 19, Amy was even more beautiful than when he met her three years earlier. They had been through a lot and their love was an unbreakable bond. A knot of tenderness welled up in his heart thinking of their near-death disasters they had avoided-together. He moved closer to her and pressed himself against her back, curing them into a spoon.

Amy gave a sleepy moan, but otherwise didn't move. They lay like this for several minutes, Jake just taking in the perfectness of his surroundings; the beautiful morning shining in the room, the smell of Amy's hair, the feel of her body against his and the promise of a long future together. He smiled. His right hand unwound itself from her and began to trace the curve of her side like a feather. He loved the flair of her hip trailing down to the narrowness of her waist and back up to her shoulder before disappearing at her neck into that gorgeous hair. He ran his hand through her hair before reversing the journey back to her thigh.

On his third pass, Amy sighed and stretched, ultimately pressing her butt against his growing erection. That did it. His hand slipped under the covers and continued its exploration against her bare skin. Amy had a habit of sleeping in only her panties; a habit Jake encouraged. She was warm and groggy from sleep. A swell of feeling overcame him as he nuzzled down into the crook of her neck and began whispering in Italian. He knew he only had a few moments until she was awake enough to understand he was saying something important.

_"__Ti amo con tutto il cuore. Sei la cosa migliore di me. Farò qualsiasi cosa per te; sia dalla mia vita o la mia morte. Voglio che tu sia la madre dei miei figli e quando è il mio momento di lasciare questa terra, sarai l'ultimo pensiero nella mia testa."_

Amy sighed, rolling on her back to see him more closely. "Were you saying something?" she asked with one eye partially open, sleep in her voice.

"Nothing," Jake said smiling with love in his voice. "If I were to say it to you, I would just sound foolish and sentimental."

Amy was mostly awake by now and she gave him a quizzical look asking for an explanation.

"Some things just need to be said during sleep." Jake said furtively, "Some words are just for the universe to hear; not for human ears." Jake was so close to her face now he had to volley his look between her eyes. The love he felt for her was strong. That was how it always was for them though, ever since that day in the train station all those years ago. He leaned down and gently brushed his lips over hers. Amy's hands came up and caressed his face as he did so.

"You weren't speaking English, were you?" Amy whispered with a smile.

Jake just studied her green eyes. "No, Italian. One step closer to God."

Amy gave a single laugh, then as she took in his intense stare, the smile left her lips and was replaced by the same intensity Jake was wearing. She wanted him. Jake didn't hesitate. He threw the sheets off the two of them and the next twenty minutes were pure ecstasy between the lovers.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

Jake was nearing the end of his 30-minute rowing workout in the gym and wanted nothing more than a hot shower to ease his sore back muscles when his coxswain sat down at the rowing machine next to him.

"Morning Jake," Ethan Townley said, throwing himself into his first stroke on his machine.

"Hey," was all Jake could manage after 27 grueling minutes rowing. He liked Ethan, as coxswains went, he was a nice guy, had the necessary gruffness and strong leadership required of the position, but it was hard to be friendly with Ethan outside of rowing. It was difficult to see him as a friend when all he did was yell at you 6 days a week at 5:00 in the morning. Jake had joined the rowing club that spring after realizing he missed having sports in his life. He had been a star running back on his high school football team, ran sprints and long jump for track, and had helped his team take state in hockey his junior year.

Jake was a natural athlete and thanks to a year-and-a-half of Amy's grueling morning workouts, he was in the best shape of his life. He had tried out and made the team as their number one recruit. He sat 7th in the boat, directly behind the Stroke. The Coxswain worked closely with the coach to make sure each man on the team was in peak physical condition and was seated correctly in the boat. Sitting Stroke meant you determined the speed of the boat and was the most competitive member of the crew. Everyone else had to follow the Stroke's timing. Jake sat 7th, right behind the Stroke and really wanted to be Stroke, but that honor went to Kael Moffit, a senior, who had been on the team since sophomore year. He really was excellent and Jake looked up to him. Their biggest racing event, the _Head of the Charles_, was coming up in a month and they were training harder than ever.

"Kael's out. Tore his rotator cuff yesterday. I want you to Stroke for the HOCR." Ethan spat out, catching Jake off guard.

Jake stopped rowing and turned to Ethan. This was a lot to process. "He tore his rotator cuff?" Jake asked, surprised.

"He was playing rugby and got hit hard. Landed on it. Said he could feel it tear. He's thrown a spanner in the works for sure, but the daft fool's going to be harder on himself than anything I could say. Stupid prat." Ethan said between breaths.

Ethan was from England and his mannerisms and phrases often reminded Jake of Ian, though Ethan was far more down to earth than Amy's pretentious cousin from across the pond.

Jake was still catching his breath and reached for his towel.

"So, will you do it? I need you Jake, you're the only one who's ready to Stroke at this late point. Coach and I both agree, you're the natural choice to take over for idiot Kael."

"Uh, of course. I'm honored."

"Well, don't be too honored, you're going to work harder this month than you've ever done and I'm not going to be nice to you. Neither will coach. There's a lot riding on this race. We need the win to come back to Harvard. It's been too long since we took to top slot." Ethan said between breaths.

Jake stood to leave, his legs feeling wobbly from exertion. "Since when have you been nice to me?" he said with a grin before turning to go. Ethan simply smiled with a nod.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

Amy's second year at Harvard was starting out well. She and Dan lived in Cambridge now, having moved in to their new semi-temporary Cahill headquarters 6 months earlier. Jake was a nearly constant companion at the house now, but thanks to Dr. Rosenbloom's intervention, he was not, in fact, living there full time. Jake and Atticus' father had moved back to Cambridge to lecture at Harvard while he cultivated a relationship with his lady love, LaCher Sifright, a colleague of his former wife whom he met by accident when she had helped Jake, and the others with a necessary item for the Vespers. She had been stabbed in the neck while trying to protect Atticus and the hospital had reached out to her emergency contacts and not reaching Astrid Rosenbloom, they tried her husband. That had been almost three years ago now and Jake knew it wouldn't be long before they got married. Mark Rosenbloom didn't do well living on his own and since Astrid's death, he had lived a half-life, trying to deal with his grief by throwing himself into his work. Lately though, he seemed on cloud 9. He was friendly to Amy and Dan often inviting them over to have dinner with all the Rosenblooms. He wasn't naïve; he knew what Amy meant to Jake and he knew that eventually Jake would ask her to marry him. It was better to cultivate family ties now than wait until it was official; that would seem forced. Amy liked Mark and LaCher, they were the closest things to parents she had anymore and it was clear how much Mark loved his sons. LaCher was a good balance for Mark's charisma and enthusiasm. She was a medieval scholar, just like Astrid had been; her singular obsession being The Voynich.

Jake came bounding into the kitchen, "Guess what?" he fairly shouted as he swooped Amy off her stool and twirled her around. Jake had a habit of being enthusiastic, like his father.

"Ethan offered me the 8th position for _Head of the Charles _next month. Kael tore his rotator cuff. I'm Stroke!" Jake said, smiling ear to ear.

Amy tried to process what these odd vocabulary words strung together meant, but she thought she caught the gist of it, "What? Are you kidding?" she said, shocked. "This is great news!"

Jake set her down, Dan hearing the commotion, came into the kitchen. He was 16 now, and he had surpassed Amy in height some time over the summer. He was over 5' 10" now and he wasn't done growing. He might even beat Jake's height when he was finally done. He had also relented and started joining Jake and Amy in their early morning workouts and it was having a result. Gone was the scrawny-armed, Dorito-eating 13-year-old who nearly died in Guatemala, replaced by a lean, toned, sandy-haired Dan who, for the first time in his life, cared about his appearance and noticing girls.

"What's up with you two?" Dan asked, pouring himself a glass of orange juice from the fridge. Jake filled Dan in on the good fortune of being made leader of his rowing team for the most prestigious race in the nation. Dan was appropriately celebratory toward Jake.

"I've got to tell Dad and Att." Jake asked.

"I'm headed to class now, maybe I can walk with you?" Amy looked at Jake as she slung her pack over her shoulder.

"Yeah, we should go." Jake said, smiling at Amy.

"Bye, Dan." Amy said, "Don't go too cross-eyed studying today."

Dan was finishing up his junior year of high school at home via the Internet. He had long since given up on brick-and-mortar schools. Just too hard considering the lives he and Amy lived; better to be available to run on a moment's notice.

Amy and Jake walked hand in hand toward campus. "I'm really happy for you Jake. That's wonderful news."

Jake looked sideways at her and gave her hand a squeeze. "Ethan says he's going to make my life hell this month getting ready. That's saying something since Ethan is already a hard coxswain."

Amy got a sly smile on her face, kept looking straight ahead, "well, then, I guess I'll just have to find a way to relieve your stress." She dropped his hand and began to walk slightly faster toward the intersection.

It worked. Jake was momentarily stunned by her thinly veiled innuendo, but he caught up to her at the intersection.

"I'll say this for you, Amy Cahill, you keep me on my toes." Jake said, not looking at her, but standing very close and staring straight ahead at the cross-walk signal.

At that moment a gaggle of loud students joined them and the light turned green, Amy's hand grazed against Jake's and she leaned in, using a voice only loud enough for him to hear, "as long as it keeps you between my thighs."

She had done it again. He was rooted to the spot, in shock. She joined the throng crossing the street. Once she looked back to see Jake with is mouth hanging open, willing his legs to work the way he was accustomed. They had to part directions now so Amy stood briefly on the opposite side of the street waiting for him to join her. His shock had been replaced with a flirtatious smile and a piercing stare. It made her want to melt. He was something else.

He grabbed both of her hands and gave his head a tiny shake. "What am I going to do with you?" he said teasing.

Amy pretended to consider his question before giving him a quick kiss and whispering, "I can think of a few things," before disappearing in the crowd, leaving him with his thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

"So, have you decided on an area of concentration?" Jake's advisor, Dr. Al Melvin asked across his desk in his bookshelf-filled library.

"I think so," Jake said, "I've always been intrigued by the ancient civilizations of Europe. My dad had me do independent study my first year at the University of Rome. I got a chance to really learn about all that Rome has to offer."

"I heard about that." Dr. Melvin's face fell and a look of mournful consideration crossed his face, "It was not long after your mother died. I was so sorry to hear about her death. She was a wonderful woman."

"Thank you. Yes, she was." Jake didn't mind talking about Astrid as much anymore. It wasn't like the sting he felt shortly after it happened. Now, he just had a warm happiness in his heart whenever anyone talked about her. It kept her alive to him.

"I assume your father has talked with you about your area of concentration? I know he'd have been thrilled to be your advisor, but, as you can imagine, the University would have a conflict of interests if they allowed him to advise you, officially. Unofficially, I'm sure you two talk at length about your future in this field." Dr. Melvin said with a smile.

Jake laughed, "You bet. Sometimes I think my ears will bleed if we talk about it anymore than we already do."

"Can I assume you are planning on narrowing down your concentration to more than the ancient civilizations of _all_ of Europe? I mean, I know you're a Rosenbloom, but even your father wouldn't take on a whole continent as an undergraduate." Dr. Melvin said with a twinkle in his eye.

Jake laughed again, "No of course not." Jake just shook his head, imagining his father racing around Europe as Indiana Jones, swinging on ropes and shooting villains while saving some damsel in distress.

Jake continued, "Actually, mainland Greece, specifically Mycenaean culture of the Bronze age—" Jake stopped. His thoughts had drifted to Amy and their journey's around the globe together to stop Vesper One. On one such visit, they had visited Mali and found an ancient salt tablet inscribed with "An Apology for a Great Transgression" which referenced the killing of Archimedes by a Roman centurion; a death the world may never have fully gotten over. While searching for this salt tablet, he and Amy had shared their first kiss. Jake could still remember the way she had thrown herself into his arms when he had cracked the cryptic code and allowed them to know where to look. He still remembered the way his pulse raced as he bent to kiss her and she had stretched to kiss him back. That had been the start of their love and here they were, three years later, stronger than ever.

Jake snapped himself out of his trance and was aware that Dr. Melvin was speaking animatedly.

"—so, yes, if you want, I can reach out to Professor Doumas at the Field School at Akrotiri. Get it all set up for you. In fact, here is his email to get started. You'll want to contact him directly once I make initial contact for you." Dr. Melvin said handing Jake a post-it with an email scribbled on it.

"Thank you!" Jake said excitedly. Now to convince Amy of his plans.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

Jake found her right where he expected. The Cambridge headquarters were housed in a beautiful $8 million-dollar Victorian with unexpected niche's all over the home. Amy's personal favorite was a small balcony nestled off the second floor hidden in the peak of two roof lines. It was quiet and peaceful; perfect for the leader of the Cahill family.

"I thought I'd find you here." He said, crawling out of the double-hung window onto the deck and taking the only other seat out there-a brightly colored Adirondack chair.

"I'm studying my medieval poetry notes from today." Amy said. "What's up?"

"I have some news-and it involves both of us. Or at least, I want it to involve both of us." Jake said, staring at her.

This caught Amy's attention. She put down her notes and turned to face Jake directly. "Ok, you have my attention."

Jake proceeded to retell the earlier events with Dr. Melvin, including picking an area of concentration and the prospect for field school in Akrotiri. "Amy, I picked Greece for a couple of reasons. It is steeped in ancient history and is a literal treasure-trove for archeologists, but as a student of the classics, you could easily do an independent study in ancient cultures and writings. Think about it Ames, we could be in Greece together, doing field school next semester!"

"Next semester?" Amy said, her voice higher than she intended. "That's awfully soon, don't you think?"

"It's the perfect time Amy. Middle of my Junior year, gives me my Senior to finish up at Harvard and the middle of your sophomore year is a great time to do an independent study! It's perfect!" Jake was beaming at her now. He was clearly so excited at the possibility of studying abroad with her that it made Amy smile.

"I don't know Jake," Amy said, beginning to shake her head. "You said Akrotiri. That's on Santorini! That's a pretty specific area to study. I would imagine I'd need to be in Athens, which means I wouldn't see you except every once in a while, which I can do from here just as well."

Jake opened his mouth to protest, but Amy cut him off, "And what about Dan? And Atticus? Are we supposed to just leave them here? They need us! I can't go off and leave my brother like that!"

Amy was starting to turn away and pack up her things. Jake knew he had to get her to calm down enough to see this clearly.

"Amy, how old is Dan?" Jake asked, calmly.

Amy huffed and rolled her eyes, "You know how old he is. He's 16!" Amy resumed packing her bag.

"And how old were you when we met in the Colosseum?" Jake asked, calm, measured, with raised eyebrows.

Amy stopped and looked at him. "16. What's your point Jake?"

"I think you know my point. Your little brother isn't so little anymore. I bet you would have laughed if Nellie or Aunt Beatrice would have said that you needed them because you were only 16." Jake said pointedly to Amy.

"That was different. My parents died when I was 7 and I'd been caring for Dan since he was 4! I had already been around the world once on a clue hunt and when I met you, I was part way through my second hunt. I didn't need guardians anymore. Dan is different though, he's…" Amy trailed off.

"He's what Amy?" Jake asked quietly. He needed her to get to this conclusion on her own.

"He's…he's…my little brother. I can't leave him." Amy ended quietly.

Jake reached over and took her hand, staring at her. "Do you think Dan would say the same thing to you?"

Amy began to silently cry, letting the tears spill down her cheeks. Jake reached over and wiped them away. "I've always been around him. Watched over him, protected him. If I'm not there to do it, who will?"

"Amy, it's OK. I know how you feel. If dad weren't here in Cambridge, I'd never leave Att. The fact remains, that Dan may not need you as much as he once did. He's safe. He's in school, he has Att and my family. He has Nellie a few hours away and Fiske too. Not to mention we can fly home at a moment's notice if we need." Jake finished and was quiet letting Amy think.

Amy's breathing was ragged from crying. She knew sooner or later she and Dan would take paths that diverged. They wouldn't live together forever, she knew that. It was just so hard thinking about leaving her brother who had been in her care for the better part of the last 12 years since their parents died. How could she live away from the one person she knew better than anyone? The one person who had watched her grow up and shared her DNA?

"You're probably right. Maybe it's time we spent some time apart." Amy said in barely a whisper.

"Amy…this is a good thing." Jake said in an equally quiet whisper. He could still see the anguish in Amy's eyes. It wrecked him. "And, if Dan doesn't want it, then you won't go. How about that?"

Amy nodded quickly but wouldn't look Jake in the eyes. Dan was all she had for so long. Now she had Jake. Jake and Att, Nellie, Sammy and the rest of her extended family. They were close, all of them. It was time to start thinking of them as her village. Dan would be okay, so would she, and this plan clearly meant a lot to Jake.

She looked up at him. He was searching her, trying to get a read on what she was feeling. She gave him a tiny smile and he raised his eyebrows. What did this mean?

"Ok", she said with more confidence than she felt, "we'll talk to him tonight."

Jake let out the breath he had been holding and flashed her his brightest smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch 6

October 19th dawned bright and clear. The oranges, reds and yellows of the leaves made it feel like the trees were cheering for them as well. The crisp air felt good on Jake's skin. He was ready and couldn't wait to race. The crew were already warming up on the river a solid hour before their race. It was a packed house all along the route. People turned up in droves to see the scullers. He knew Amy, Dan and Att were somewhere in the crowd having walked over from the house.

Their biggest competition were two old rivals: MIT and Dartmouth; both schools had excellent rowers and a long history of wins. Jake knew there was a lot riding on his shoulders today. He also knew they were going to win, he just had a feeling. He couldn't explain it, other than his gut told him they were.

Amy, Atticus and Dan were huddles on the cold metal bleachers at the finish line huddled under wool tartan blankets they had brought from the house. Jake was right, they had needed to get there early; the stands were packed!

"I'm going to go get some hot chocolate, anyone else want some?" Att asked.

"I'd take one," Amy said

As Atticus made his way through the crowd, Amy turned to Dan, "Dan, are you sure you're OK with Jake and me studying in Greece next semester?"

"For the hundredth time, Amy, yes, I'm OK with it." Dan said with annoyance. "I'm going to be fine. Atticus is going to be fine. Jake's going to be fine, you're going to be fine. _Everybody will be fine_!"

"Ok, alright. You don't have to get grumpy," Amy said defensively. "I just sometimes think you say that because it's what you think I want to hear."

"It is what you want to hear," Dan shot back, "but, by happy coincidence, it's also the truth."

This smart aleck comment made Amy smile. It was so like him to joke when she was trying to be serious. "Alright, I get it. I'll stop asking. But Dan, promise me we'll talk a lot while I'm gone? I don't want to stop being your sister just because I'll be 7 time zones away."

Dan had a smart comment all ready to use, but then he caught his sister's look and changed his mind. This really was worrying her. "Of course. We'll talk every day. I'll text you at a normal time my zone and I'll wake you up at some ungodly hour in yours."

Amy smiled, "Deal." She said throwing her arm around her little brother.

Just then Atticus made his way back with the hot chocolates and the loud speaker announced the start of Jake's race. Somewhere far away, a gun sounded to signal the start. They all craned their necks to the TV broadcasting the race.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7

Amy's mind drifted to last night. The longer she dated Jake, the more sentimental she realized he was. Amy wanted to take him out to 'carb load' at their favorite hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant the night before his big race, but Jake had insisted they opt instead for a fancier, more authentic Italian restaurant that they needed reservations for. He had even bought her a dress to wear. It was beautiful; chocolate brown with three rows of sequins sewn on to the bottom four inches of the silk. It was open in the back and hit mid-thigh. It was the raciest thing Amy owned.

_"Well, what do you think?" Amy said stepping from the bathroom and giving a small twirl._

_Jake's face lit up, "Wow." Was all he said, giving his head a little shake. "I think we just skip the restaurant and go upstairs instead." _

_Amy rolled her eyes, "Jake," she admonished, with a shy smile. "Why can't I just wear my normal clothes? You're not dressed up."_

_"Oh, I will be, don't worry." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in close for a kiss._

_30 minutes later, they had gotten dressed and were headed to the restaurant. Amy had added a pair of strappy sandals and pulled her hair up into a high pony tail before throwing on a trench coat for warmth. Jake had come down wearing a white fitted t-shirt under a black blazer and jeans. _

_"You look amazing," she remarked, giving him a coy smile. Somehow, he managed to look good in anything he wore. It was unfair really, why did the beautiful people always manage to do that? _

_He simply gave her forehead a kiss and took her hand. "Come on, we have reservations."_

_At the restaurant Jake started talking, reaching across the small table to take Amy's hand and play with the lines on her palm. _

_"You know, we don't really have an anniversary. Our story isn't a traditional one, to say the least, and I was thinking, we probably ought to have some date that means something to us, since I hope we'll be together for a long, long time."_

_Amy blushed and smiled. She really loved it when he talked long-term with her. "You're right. We never had a first date."_

_Jake continued, "So, I was thinking, what date do we celebrate? Is it the first time we met?" Jake's face changed and a playful smile crossed his lips, "Or, the first time we kissed? Or, was it the first 'I love you'?"_

_Amy could feel her heart melting. He was reliving their odd courtship that began three years ago when they were hunting for the Vespers. "It has to be the day we met, right?" Amy asked, raising her eyebrows in question._

_"Right, that's what I came up with too." Jake said, sighing with relief. _

_"If we hadn't come to the colosseum that day, I don't know if we would have ever met." Amy added._

_"Leave it to our dorky brothers to orchestrate the most important day of either of our lives." Jake said, his dazzling smile returning in earnest. _

_"But, how on earth will we figure out what day that was?" Amy asked, "I know it was in October sometime, but all those days blurred together for me."_

_Jake smiled. "I had to go back and look through Att's emails to Dan in order to find the one Dan sent to him about the Porta Sanavivaria. We met at 11:00 am, on Thursday, October 18__th__, when Atticus let you jump the line and join us."_

_ "That's today!" Amy said, her eyes misting. "How long have you had this figured out?"_

_ "Long enough to have this made." Jake pulled a small leather box and handed it to Amy._

_ Amy eyed Jake. The box was too big to be a ring, thank goodness. She didn't think she was ready for that sort of talk. What was this? She gingerly took the box from him, never breaking her eye contact with him. Jake was fairly glowing with pride as he watched her. _

_ Amy sat back in her seat and just stared at Jake. "What have you done?" she said in barely more than a whisper. Amy took a deep breath and held it. She opened the lid slowly. What she saw took her breath away._


	8. Chapter 8

Ch 8

Amy glanced up to the television screen above the crowd. Jake's race was very close. Harvard was currently in third, nearly even with Dartmouth and MIT with a sizeable lead over the other two teams.

"Mile 2, one to go," Dan said. Amy tipped back the last sips of her hot chocolate. The sleeve of her jacket slid up on her left wrist as she drained the last dregs. Dan glanced to his right, and did a double take. His mouth hung open and he stared at his sister. Amy could feel his eyes on her.

She turned to him, "What?"

Dan grabbed Amy's wrist and pushed up her sleeve. "Where did you get_ that?_" he said, staring at the watch on her arm. Her watch. _The_ watch.

Amy looked from Dan, to her watch, and back. A smile formed on her lips. "Jake gave it to me last night. Apparently, yesterday was our anniversary."

"Apparently? You didn't know?" Dan asked, a million questions running through his mind. "Att, did you see this?"

Atticus looked over Amy to Dan and saw the watch on her wrist. "Whoa!" he said with surprise. "I thought you gave your watch to Vesper One?"

"I did." Amy said to both boys. "Jake had a replica made, without the gear, of course, to celebrate our three-year anniversary," Amy said, smiling at the watch.

"You've been dating three years?" Atticus said with doubt.

"No, not dating. We met three years ago. Jake looked up the date Dan emailed about the _Porta Sanavivaria _word puzzle_. _ We flew to Rome that day and met you in line, remember?" Amy said to Atticus.

Atticus' forehead crinkled, thinking.

Amy continued, "We never really had a first date, so it's sort of hard for us to pinpoint a date to celebrate, you know?"

Dan chimed in, "Yeah, I could see that. The day you met. That's as good of a starting spot as you probably will get, at least, until you have a wedding anniversary to celebrate. You better have one of those eventually. You two are perfect for each other; both uber-nerds."

Atticus nodded in agreement. Before Amy could respond, the crowd went wild. The boats were making the final tight turn at Eliot Bridge. They would be in view in seconds. Jake's crew had pulled ahead of Dartmouth and were neck and neck with MIT. No wonder the crowd was going wild! Everyone stood to get a better view, Amy was cheering right along with her brother and Atticus.

Her thoughts returned to last night.

_She opened the leather box and a strange, strangled squeak escaped her lips. Inside was a perfect replica of the special watch she had made to house Gideon Cahill's gear. The last and most important piece of the doomsday device. She had given it up as the final item to Vesper One and it nearly killed her to do so. _

_She looked up at Jake, words failing her. How had he done it? He stood, came over to her side of the table and, crouching down, he took the watch out of its box. Amy was still speechless, just watching him. He slid it off its mount and unbuckled it. He handed it to her, upside down, so she could see the back. Engraved on the stainless-steel underside read:_

_18th of October_

_Initiation of perpetuity_

_Love you always_

_Tears streamed freely down Amy's cheeks. She had started shaking, remembering how upset she had been in Berlin, realizing she had left her watch inside the Pergamon museum and how Jake had to literally hold her down to keep her from hurting herself. _

_She turned to him, "I love you so much!" she said through her tears and grabbed both sides of his face and planted a deep, long kiss on him._

She continued to cheer with the crowd as the scullers came into view. It was going to be close. The crimson of Harvard stood out in contrast to MIT's white. They were less than a half bow length difference. The crowd went wild. As they stroked into the final few yards, Harvard made their move. How the crew had any energy left for this, Amy didn't know, but as they crossed the final buoy, Harvard's bow nudged ahead and took the win. Amy, Atticus and Dan jumped up and down, hugging each other. They could hear the guys in the boat cheering as well. She spied Jake sitting Stroke and she saw the huge smile on his face as he pumped his fist in the air. Even though she knew he couldn't see her, she blew him a kiss anyway.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch 9

The next 10 weeks before they left for Greece seemed to fly by. Amy found herself savoring her days with her brother. The reality that she would be moving away from him for the first time in their lives hit her incrementally as the deadline drew closer. As it turned out, Dan was having his own waves of sentimentality. He knew he'd be fine, even great, on his own for the first time, but he had to admit, it made him sad to think the days of being a kid, on his own with his big sister were drawing to a close. They were getting older; Amy had already found the great love of her life and Dan knew he'd be in college soon, hopefully he'd be just as lucky in love as Amy and Jake.

The morning of Amy and Jake's flight, Dan woke early and crawled out onto the hidden roof deck of the Cambridge house. He didn't care that it was cold or that he had to sweep snow off the chair out there. Somehow, the cold helped dull his sadness at what was happening later this morning. After today, the big house would be his alone. He reminded himself that she'd be back in May and she had several more years of undergrad plus grad school and possibly doctoral dissertation years ahead of them. That was a comfort to him.

The window behind him slid up and Amy's features insinuated themselves in the frame.

"May I join you?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. Come on out, the weather's great," Dan said deadpan.

Amy crawled out wearing her heavy winter parka and snow boots, she dusted off the accompanying chair and took a seat. "You doing okay?" she asked.

Dan shrugged. "Yeah, I think so," he said looking down and playing with a small snow pile at his feet. "I'm not looking forward to the quiet house, though, if I'm being honest."

Amy looked at him, feeling sadness, "well, it's not like I'm very loud. I'm the nerdy librarian, right? I think there's a code or something about noise." Amy attempted at humor.

Dan gave a slight smile and looked up, "It'll be okay. Plus, you're only gone a few months, right?"

"Yeah. It's just a semester. We'll be back in May. You could even come over for Spring Break, or maybe we can all meet up in Rome? I think Dr. Rosenbloom still has that apartment there." Amy offered.

Dan nodded and gave her a small, sad smile. "But things are changing. I know you feel it, too. I mean, the days of us living together are numbered."

Amy opened her mouth to protest, but Dan continued before she could say a word, "and that's how it's supposed to be. We grow up, we get married, we start our lives. I know we won't live together forever. I guess I should look at this semester as a 'trial run' for what's coming. You and Jake will get married sometime, I hope I'll find somebody too and who knows where that will lead me."

Listening to her brother talk about their imminent separation brought tears to her eyes. She wished she could just stop time, right now and live in this moment forever. She had watched over her brother for so long now that the thought of moving away from him, permanently, no matter when it was, made her heart race and the panic begin.

"Dan, we have to make a promise that we'll stay close, no matter what happens in the future. I don't want to drift apart. I know we can't be together forever, but that doesn't mean we can't still be best friends. Best friends talk regularly, make time for each other and are involved in each other's lives. Promise me we will do that?"

Dan had tears of his own now; he nodded, "I promise," he said.

"Will you promise me you'll find a college in Boston?" Amy asked suddenly.

Dan wrinkled his brow, "where else is there?" he asked.

Amy smiled at him and took both of his hands. "I love you little brother. I know you're bigger than me now, but you'll always be my little brother."

Dan and Amy stood and threw their arms around each other in a fierce hug that lingered; both of them knowing this would be their last hug for a long time. Inside the house, Jake and Atticus stood in the alcove just inside the window looking out at the Cahill siblings saying goodbye to each other.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch 10

Jake and Amy boarded the flight to Athens and leaned back in their seats with a sigh. The reality of their decision to study abroad together was hitting them at the same time. No more family to say goodbye to, no more mountains of laundry to wash and fold, no more boxes or bags to pack, no more finals to be turned in. Just the two of them, on a flight, side by side.

They sat in silence for a few moments; Amy's eyes closed, Jake staring ahead, but not really seeing. It had been hard saying goodbye to Atticus, just as hard as Amy's goodbye to Dan had been. Jake had practically raised Atticus since their mother's death four years earlier. He was 14 now, and living at home with their father, but Att was far closer to Jake now than their dad. Jake closed his eyes and thought back to the night before when Atticus had hugged Jake with all of his might and openly sobbed all over his shirt. It had been heartbreaking for Jake. Several times he almost burst out, _OK! Never mind, I won't go!_ But he hadn't. Both brothers knew this had to happen. Jake had an opportunity like none other in front of him and he had to take it. When their father had learned of Jake's decision to apply for field school, he was thrilled and talked animatedly with Jake about what was to come, but, as the weeks before his departure came, even Dr. Rosenbloom felt the weight of the decision between the brothers. He found himself spending more and more time with his two sons hoping it would help Atticus deal with his impending solitude.

No one had come to the airport with Jake and Amy to see them off, per their request. Even so, their morning goodbyes all around had been tear jerkers. Now Amy sat next to Jake on the plane that would take them half way around the world for adventures unknown and it felt strange to not be accompanied by their two little brothers.

Jake was the first to break out of his memory fog and glance over at Amy. She sat straight faced and somber.

"You doing okay?" he asked, taking her hand.

"Yeah," she said quietly, looking over at him, "you?"

"I'm okay." Jake said somberly.

Amy sighed and squeezed his hand. "This is the first time I've ever gotten on a plane with just you."

"That's not true." Jake said, "I'm pretty sure we flew a crop duster off the coast of Maine together."

Amy cracked a small smile, "ok, you've got me. That's true, we did do that."

"But this is the first commercial flight we've ever been on without anyone else along." Jake offered, giving her a smile.

Amy smiled back, thinking of the first time she ever got butterflies on a plane because she was sitting with Jake. It had been on their way to Brazil. She remembered the way the heat from his arm made her heart race and how good he had smelled.

Jake must have been reminiscing too, "Do you remember that flight to Mali on Jonah's plane? The one where we talked for hours over that little table? I had nerves that entire flight, sitting that close to you."

Amy turned to him, "I was just thinking about that small plane to Iguazu where we were practically sitting in the same seat it was so small."

"Yeah, I remember that flight too. Although, by then, I was pretty sure you had feeling for me, seeing as you kissed me in Mali. That flight on Jonah's plane, though? I was trying so hard to get you to like me."

"_I _kissed you? As I remember it, you initiated." Amy said affronted.

Jake laughed, "Oh no, you threw _your_ arms around me! I was just an innocent bystander."

"Are you kidding me?" Amy said with mock outrage, "you pulled me in. I was just going for a hug!"

They both smiled at each other and their eyes met for a long time. Eventually, both of their smiles turned into contemplation as they studied each other. Now when Jake studied Amy's face he could read it instantly. She was somber, but excited. The joy was returning to her face.  
"All kidding aside," he said, staring into her eyes, "are you ready for this?"

Amy returned the gaze, remembering a time when staring this closely into _Jake Rosenbloom's_ eyes would have given her shivers. Now, it gave her comfort, assurance and a sense of peace. "Yes. I can't wait," she said smiling.

Jake leaned over and delicately kissed her lips.

They talked for hours as the sky slowly moved from bright daylight to the hint of twilight. The clouds below them tinged with the pinks and oranges of a fading sunset. Both of them napped occasionally, using each other as pillows. While Amy slept, Jake's thoughts drifted to their upcoming semester together. They had been assigned to the ancient city of Olympia on the Peloponnesian peninsula. Jake had filled out the living requirements for the two of them and the only way they would be given the right to bunk together was if he had marked 'married couple'. He felt a little a guilty about deceiving the field study office like that, but who cared, really? He didn't want to spend a single night away from Amy and he knew she felt the same way. He just hoped his father didn't find out about their arrangement; Mark Rosenbloom had strong opinions that his son was too young for such a serious arrangement, though Jake had learned last year that his parents had married when they were in undergrad so his mother could get her green card; She had been Portuguese.

Jake smiled and shook his head as he realized his parents had only been a year older than he was when they had gotten married. He glanced at Amy leaning on his shoulder, fast asleep. _I really do want to marry her_, he thought, but he had to agree with his father at the moment. Amy was only 19. The beginnings of a plan were forming in Jake's mind however. _I'll ask her at the end of undergrad and we can get married in grad school. Dad can't get upset about that. We'll both be old enough then. _

He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, turned off the reading light and tried to get a few hours of sleep before they landed.


	11. Chapter 11

Ch 11

The site at Olympia was something to see. Amy couldn't hide her amusement at Jake's reaction to walking through the famous archeological site. He was like a little kid at Disney World. He walked around with reverence barely believing his luck at being placed here for the next 5 months. Their supervisor, Dr. Theophilus Elias, had six new students as part of field school, including Amy and Jake. Much of Peloponnesian Greece was covered in active archeological dig sites, which drew tourists and the home of the ancient Olympic games made their dig site part-history and part-tourist trap. Good thing they had arrived in the 'off' season; not many tourists made the journey in January and February. Dr. Elias said that the winter and spring were their most productive months and he was grateful they had all agreed to be a part of the dig.

The students had been housed with locals in the small village outside the dig site. Amy and Jake were staying in a tiny studio home owned by a local restauranteur that was so small their kitchen was outside, under a reed roof. Their bed was upstairs above the tiny living area accessible by steps that were so rickety they jutted right out of the stone wall with no bracing. 'Rustic' was the word Jake had used; Amy thought that was being generous. The good news was they were alone; their tiny home was outside the edge of town about a five-minute walk to town one direction and another five-minute walk to the dig site the other. The owner had even put in a tiny swimming pool just barely big enough for two people to stretch out in, but it looked relaxing on those hot Greek days that were bound to come.

Three weeks into the semester they were beginning to feel at home amongst their peers. Most days Amy could be found in the tiny local library that housed an incredible history of Olympia including photos taken over the century of the dig site. She was working to catalogue all of it into one digital database for the Ministry of Archeology of Greece. Jake had taken up with the others to help continue the excavation near the Temple of Zeus that was always being worked on. Since the Temple was one of the largest attractions during the summer, it was impossible to work on until January.

One day, Amy was working to scan old photos of the dig when a shadow fell over her. She looked up to see a middle-aged blonde woman staring at her.

"Hello, may I help you?" Amy asked in her very broken Greek.

The unsmiling woman simply stared at her a moment too long before speaking. Amy was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "You are Amy Cahill?" she said in strongly accented English.

Amy's alarm was beginning to sound. She stood slowly and looked around for a way to escape. She quickly sized this woman up; she was alone, middle aged, maybe older. Unless she had a weapon, Amy was fairly certain she could incapacitate her and run for it. "Who wants to know?" Amy said narrowing her eyes and leaning back on her left foot, ready to strike with her right.

"I am Dr. Elena Korkora, President of the Archaeological Service of the Greek Ministry of Culture," she said, "and, I need your help."

Dr. Korkora refused to give any details about her request until they were speaking in private. Amy had insisted that Jake be a part of the conversation, which had taken some convincing until she learned his last name: _Rosenbloom_. All of a sudden, the President for Archaeological services for all of Greece was more than happy to have the son of Dr. Mark Rosenbloom join in the conversation.

"Dr. Korkora, how can we help you?" Amy said, as they started in on their take-away containers she had picked up at a local restaurant. They were crowded around the tiny table in their tiny living room of their tiny home; it was too cold for them to eat outside at the kitchen table. She simply eyed Amy closely, then Jake, then back to Amy. She was sizing them up for whatever she was about to say.

Finally, she spoke. "I know who you are." She said in her accented English. "I know all about your family; the branches, the secrets, the clues. Please, don't try to deny it, which is your natural response to those who are outsiders, however, I am not an outsider."

Amy had not expected this. She glanced to her left, only to see Jake looking right back at her. They both slowly turned back to Dr. Korkora.

"I was partnered with a Cahill for 23 years before his death. We never married, but we had a life together; we have a son together, and you knew him; Erasmus Yilmaz."


	12. Chapter 12

Ch 12

Amy's breath caught in her chest and her mouth hung open at this news. She had no idea Erasmus had a family. Amy thought back to his funeral and she quickly scanned her memory to think if she had caught sight of Dr. Korkora, or a child there. Nothing came to mind, but that didn't mean much. She didn't have Dan's photographic memory.

"Erasmus was such a secretive man who led a complicated life, which is the reason I never agreed to marry him. I didn't want our son being caught up in the mystery and danger of Erasmus' life," Dr. Korkora said. "I know sometimes he was on official Cahill business, but, he also tended to work for whoever paid the best when he wasn't working for the family."

Amy was silent just absorbing the fact that the coolest, most bad-ass member of her extended family had a famous archeologist partner and a son that none of them knew about. It was a great risk for Dr. Korkora to reveal this to a Cahill. She must have her reasons.

"Dr. Korkora, we were so sorry to hear of Erasmus' death." Jake said sympathetically leaning forward.

"Thank you." She said curtly, "but I knew this was coming. I had actually expected it long before it came. He had many near-death experiences in our life together, the first when our son was very small. It was then that I started preparing for the inevitable. In my mind, every year past about year 3 was a gift, so I consider myself lucky we had 20 more together."

"Well, that's a very healthy way to look at Cahill life," Amy said, slightly amused by her response.

"No Miss Cahill, it is a very cynical, sad way to look at life. I refused to fully give into my love for fear of what was coming. I only lived a half-life with him." Dr. Korkora said flatly.

She glanced Amy and Jake, "But, love makes us do stupid things. Perhaps you both are too young to fully appreciate the foolishness of love, but I promise you, at some point, one or both of you will do something reckless in the name of love and you will fight your natural instincts to protect this person you love more than your life itself."

Out of the corner of her eye, Amy could see Jake sit upright and inflate his chest. As he let out the breath slowly, he looked at their guest, "I think I know a little of what that feels like."

Dr. Korkora smiled wryly at him, "I'm sure you do, if you have willingly joined yourself to the leader of the Cahill family."

All of a sudden, Amy felt under attack. "Dr. Korkora, I'm sure you came her for a reason other than to discuss your family connections to mine?"

Dr. Korkora turned away from Jake to face her, "Indeed, I did. I was the one who had you placed at Olympia. Every field student's name comes across my desk each year and most times I barely glance at the list. However, the name 'Amy Cahill' caught my eye and I knew I must place you here."

"That explains a lot," Jake said, standing and beginning to walk around the little room. "I asked to be placed at Akrotiri, but when assignments came back, Olympia was marked. I tried to inquire why, but nobody at Harvard knew."

"To be honest, Jake, I didn't know you were partnered with Amy. I didn't mean to derail your desire. It was Miss Cahill I needed. You were…" she trailed off, unsure of how to put it.

Jake saved her, "collateral damage."

"I'm not sure I would consider studying at the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World 'collateral damage.'" Dr. Korkora said snidely.

Jake tried to back pedal, "Uh, of course not, I didn't mean that, I just thought—"

Dr. Korkora waved his explanation off. "Do you know of Robert Koldewey's work?"

"Yes" both Amy and Jake answered in unison.

Dr. Korkora raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed. "Good. That saves a lot of explanation. Whatever I don't explain here, you can Google later tonight."

Jake smiled. There would be no need for Google. Both he and Atticus were minor scholar's in their 'Koldewey'; their father had taught them all about him very early on.

"Are you familiar with his mark?" She asked the two of them.

This time it was Amy who answered, "Yes. We saw it carved in stone on an ancient city outside of Timbuktu a few years ago."

"The arrogant prick carved an element of his own design into many famous World Heritage Sites that still remain to this day." Dr. Korkora said, shaking her head.

Jake and Amy stifled smiles. Most of the archeological world could overlook this indulgence of Koldewey, seeing as he helped more than he hurt. However, Dr. Korkora's reaction wasn't uncommon amongst scholars; she was just the first one Jake had spoken to in person.

"What do you two make of this?" she said, handing a photo to them. It was small, like snapshots from the 1930's and 40's and in black and white. Despite the age of the photo, it was clear: There was Koldewey's mark, _die Fehlerspielräume_, superimposed on a Cahill 'C'.


	13. Chapter 13

Ch 13

Moonlight slanted in through their window casting blue shadows across their bed later that night, postcoital, as Amy and Jake discussed what the photo might mean. Amy's breasts bathed in the moonlight as she lay propped across his chest, Jake playing with a lock of her long hair. Dr. Korkora had said that she'd been in possession of the photo for two decades and the only hint she had ever been given was that it had been taken somewhere near the Temple of Zeus. Erasmus had given her the photo. He said it had long been in his family and as an archeologist, he knew she had the best chance at figuring out what it was and what it meant. However, even with their joint efforts, Elena, as she had asked them to call her, and Erasmus were never able to find it.

"I've seen Koldewey's mark many times," Jake said, twirling a strand around his index finger, "but I've never seen it with a Cahill 'C'."

"Agreed," Amy said, "Who knows who made the C?"

"And why Olympia?" Jake said.

"I don't know." Amy said with a sigh.

"Well, let's break this down. What do we know?" Jake asked glancing at her.

Still warm from their joint efforts, Amy sat up, crossing her legs. She pulled a ponytail holder off her wrist and began to wind it up in her long hair. Jake's mouth fell open slightly at this sight; Amy, fully naked, her perky breasts cutting glass in the cool evening air and now her hair piled loosely up on her head, exposing her long neck. She continued on as if this were as normal as could be. Jake simply smiled and clasped his hands behind his head, loving how comfortable they were with each other now, "well," she started, "we know Robert Koldewey died in 1925, so the mark had to have been made in his lifetime."

"And," Jake continued, trying to keep his eyes on her face, "we know the earliest use of the Cahill 'C' was the crest that Gideon made, so, there is a high likelihood the 'C' came first."

"But, not entirely. I don't know when Cahills started using the **_C_** as a way of communication, but Dan and I saw several C's carved into objects on the clue hunt. Most of them put there by Cahills who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries." Amy added, "And, the use of the **_C_** was always used as a warning or a threat. If friendly communication was needed, then the individual branch letter was used instead."

"Interesting. I didn't know that. That also makes sense. The 18th century was the height of hidden or disguised communication. Travel was becoming easier; roads more accessible and ocean voyages were becoming commonplace. The need to communicate in secret had never been more important." Jake added, excitement rising in his voice.

"Koldewey began his first excavation in 1875. Maybe he carved both of them?" Amy conjectured.

"Maybe. But, was he a Cahill?" Jake asked.

"Not that I know of, but, it would just take a quick look in the database to confirm." Amy said with a yawn. "I'll text Dan tomorrow."

"Have you cooled off enough yet?" Jake asked, still eyeing her nude form. "I'm ready for some blankets."

Amy had forgotten all about being hot after sex. She glanced down at herself and noted her nipples. "Oh, yeah, I guess I am."

Jake made a slight motion with his head, indicating that she should lay down. She obliged, Jake covering the two of them and Amy cuddling into the crook of his arm.

"And, I'll call Att." Jake added, "He'll want to talk anyway and this will get him excited. Maybe we can even talk to them together. It'll be like being back together-the four of us." Jake said, running his fingers one final time through Amy's hair.

She turned on her side, pressing herself into Jake. He wrapped his arm around her. Amy loved falling asleep curled into Jake's arms. Many nights he let his hand cup the curve of her breast as they lay spooned together. The little house had a wood burning stove for heat, but they rarely left it burning at night. They much preferred to use each other for warmth.

"Ames?" Jake asked in a whisper.

"Hmm," was the only reply he got.

"Do you miss home?" Jake asked

Amy didn't reply right away. "I miss Dan. And Atticus, but otherwise, no, not really." _That's what happens when you spend most of the previous five years traveling the globe_, Amy thought, _home becomes wherever you are with the people you care about._

Jake was silent, but Amy could sense he was smiling. "Do you?" she asked.

"Not really. I think home is wherever you are, now."

"I was just thinking the same thing." Amy squeezed his forearm with hers. "I love you. So much."

"E ti amo, amore mio," Jake whispered in return.


	14. Chapter 14

Ch 14

In the morning, Amy decided it was time to learn as much about Robert Koldewey as she could find. He was not a Cahill, no ties that she could find anywhere, however she did find out that the Cahill family had archaeologists in every single branch of the family, including her own mother, Hope Cahill. Grace had told Amy that Hope had only worked on a few archaeological sites before she abandoned her career and focused on finding the 39 clues full time.

Amy, Jake and Elena spent one entire day scouring the Temple of Zeus for any sign of Koldewey's mark. No luck.

"Maybe I should get Dad involved?" Jake surmised afterward.

"I would prefer that you didn't." Elena voiced. "I've tried very hard to keep this off my colleagues' radar."

"I agree. The fewer non-Cahills that know about the family, the better." Amy added. She was the de facto head of the family and whatever Amy decided, was law.

Jake scowled, "You've already familiarized him in all things Cahill."

"But I haven't versed his colleagues." Amy reproved. Jake sighed and nodded.

They sat in their tiny living room that night pouring over Koldewey's writings and anything she could find on the Temple of Zeus.

Jake sat beside her, staring at the fire, frowning. Something wasn't sitting with him quite right. Amy glanced at him once after returning to her spot having gotten a glass of water.

"What. What's bothering you?" She said, a note of annoyance in her voice.

"Here's my problem", Jake said, "As an archaeologist, I know that I always need to be in the company of my bullshit detector."

Amy gave a bark of laughter, but then stifled the rest of her smile after looking at Jake's stern glare. He continued on as if she hadn't interrupted him.

"And something about this photo is setting off all my bullshit detectors. The trouble is, Dr. Korkora is a well-respected archeologist in her own right and she wouldn't risk her reputation if it wasn't worth tracking down."

"Except, she isn't tracking it down, is she?" Amy asked. "At least, not anymore. She's passed it off to two, unknown, untested students who don't have a lot to lose and nothing but time on our hands."

Jake looked at her and slowly nodded. "So, maybe it's not bullshit. It's just a cold lead she doesn't have time to follow anymore?"

"That's what I think."

Jake frowned, "ok….ok. So, what did Koldewey have to do with Olympia?"

"I've been reading all about him and he was one of the first archeologists to take on a modern approach to archeology; systematically cataloguing and labeling, documenting and photographing everything he found."

"That's right," Jake said. "He was the first to really make scientists take note of everything they found, even down to the littlest detail. It's a good thing he was so detailed. His records of the city of Babylon are still the gold standard for work in that area. He found the Ishtar Gate."

"I saw that in the Pergamon!" Amy said excitedly. "You can't miss it! It was right off the main gallery where I was detained by that metal-lined bag. Do you remember that?"

Jake smiled, "of course! I had to come and bail you three out. I wasn't sure it would work, but it did. Too bad we didn't have time to explore the Pergamon, it's a pretty fantastic museum. Koldewey contributed many items to the museum in his lifetime."

"ok, but, none of that helps us now…" Amy started.

"Maybe it does. Maybe there's some connection to the Pergamon and Olympia?" Jake offered.

"Or, maybe there's a connection between Olympia and Babylon!"

Both of them were silent thinking about this possibility. Babylon was located under the current city of Mosul, Iraq. Neither Jake nor Amy wanted to spend any time in Iraq these days, and, in actuality, they probably couldn't get in even if they tried.

Jake said what they were both thinking, "That's a dead end."

Amy sighed, got up and stretched. "I'm going to go back to the site tomorrow and skype with Dan. He's got a good instinct about finding things, maybe he'll see something I don't."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll do the same with Att. Maybe he can help me flesh some ideas out."

"In the meantime, let's go to bed." Jake offered.

"I thought you'd never ask." Amy smiled in return.


	15. Chapter 15

Ch 15

"Hi guys!" came Atticus' familiar voice through the laptop screen the next morning as he sat next to Dan in the Cambridge comm center. Jake and Amy had Skyped the two brothers' when they were together to maximize their efforts. The two elder siblings explained about the photo to the two younger ones. They also explained about Dr. Korkora's connection to Cahills and having no luck finding the symbol anywhere in the ruins of the Temple of Zeus.

"We're basically stumped," Amy admitted.

Atticus chimed in, "well, there is a lot of area left to cover and _near the temple of Zeus_ doesn't mean it has to be _in_ the temple."

"We know that," Jake replied, looking irritated.

"Pan the laptop around so we can see the whole thing," Dan suggested.

Jake turned the laptop around and gave a brief tour of the ruins as they were shown to the brothers.

"STOP!" shouted Atticus, "what was that last ruin? The one that has started to be rebuilt?"

Jake and Amy glanced at each other, "The Philippeion," Jake offered. "It was created by Philip II, father of Alexander the Great to celebrate his family and Greek accomplishments in general during their lifetime. They were a pretty impressive family, all things being equal."

"Walk over there," Atticus commanded.

"What are you looking for Atticus?" Amy asked, curious now.

"It's near the Temple of Zeus, and it has started to be rebuilt, so, I'm wondering if the symbol you are looking for is now covered up, replaced by new slabs of marble."

Jake and Amy gave audible groans simultaneously. Jake swore under his breath.

"Ok, now walk around it slowly" Atticus requested again.

Amy and Jake obliged. Atticus had them stop periodically and shine their phone lights under slabs or toppled columns. Finally, he gave up.

"It's just too hard to really tell what I'm seeing from Massachusetts." Atticus said.

"Well, I know one way to fix that." Dan piped up.

"You guys can't come here. You have school. The semester has already started." Amy protested.

"I don't." Dan said. "Homeschooled, remember?"

"I'm not exactly a traditional student. I'm only taking one brick and mortar class this semester." Atticus piped up.

Jake glanced at Amy, "looks like we've been overruled."

Amy just smiled. Secretly, she would love having Dan around again. She knew Jake was thinking the same about Att.

"Alright, I guess it's decided. Let us know when you get in. We'll pick you up!"

36 hours later, Amy, Jake, Dan and Atticus were reunited. The four of them rode the train back from Athens all while talking like they'd been away for years. Amy had texted Elena to tell her about the brothers joining them and their suspicion about the mark being hidden. As they neared the west wall of the Altis, the inner sanctuary at Olympia, Atticus was busy rattling off facts about the Philippeion.

"It was built in 338 BCE by Philip the II, who was Alexander the Great's father. He was an interesting guy in his own right, but his famous son overshadowed his accomplishments. In actuality, the line of Philip died out as it were, with Alexander. Nobody really knows how Alexander died, but he had a slow, painful death over the course of two weeks while he was in Babylon. Some scholars think he was poisoned, others believe he had acute appendicitis, still others think he had some sort of bacterial infection that was never treated."

Amy smiled. She had forgotten what a fountain of knowledge Atticus could be; facts like an encyclopedia came spewing forth whenever anyone needed them.

Atticus continued, "It was, in actuality, Alexander the Great who finished the Philippeion and had the statues inside commissioned. There was a statue for Philip, his wife, his parents and Alexander. I suspect Alexander had his statue added himself. I don't imagine Philip would have carved one for Alexander and not the rest of his children."

As the four of them crested the final hill, they saw two figures standing near the Philippeion.

"Elena, hello!" Amy said, extending her hand to her.

"Hello" Elena said to all four of them. "I'd like to introduce you to my son, Nico."

Amy's breath caught in her throat. Nico was the spitting image of his father. It was like looking into Erasmus' eyes. Dan felt it too. He was standing there speechless, just staring at Nico Yilmaz. Jake picked up the slack left by the two speechless Cahills.

"Uh, hi, I'm Jake and this is my brother Atticus." He said, extending his hand to Nico. Seeing that neither Cahill had recovered from staring into the face of ghost, he introduced both of them to Nico as well.

"Nice to meet all of you," Nico said.

Dan finally closed his mouth, gave his head a small shake and tried to recover some of his embarrassment. "You probably hear this all the time, but you look just like your dad."

"Please forgive us for staring. I just can't get over…" Amy started but then petered out.

"It's alright. Actually, hardly anyone I know knew him. It's rare for me to meet other Cahills. I'm especially glad to meet both you, and Dan. My father spoke very highly of both of you. He respected you both.

"And we him." Amy said, feeling tears in her eyes. Erasmus was one of her favorite Cahills and she was devastated by his death.

Seeing that the greetings had come to an end, Elena spoke up again. "You said you had a theory?"

"Not me," Amy said, indicating to Atticus.

Elena was surprised that the 14-year-old was the one to come up with a plausible theory. She raised her eyebrows at Atticus in surprise.

Atticus began to retell his theory about the Phillipeion and the reconstruction. As he hypothesized, Amy felt a twinge of annoyance at Atticus having to prove himself to this world-famous archeologist. _He must have to do this ten times a day. No wonder Jake was so protective of him when we met in the colosseum._ She glanced over at Jake. He was watching his brother with a twitch of a smile on his face. _He's proud of him. He's proud like a father would be. They are so close, it must be tearing him up to be away from Atticus this long. I'm glad they came to help us. _

When Atticus finished, everyone stared at Elena. She pondered this theory for a few moments before turning to face the partially rebuilt monument and study it. Finally, she spoke. "It could be possible that there was something hidden below the base."

Amy spoke up, "Let's go find out." And marched off.


	16. Chapter 16

Ch 16

After the base had been explored, the underside of the plinth became their focus. Atticus, being the smallest in size, offered to crawl in the small space below the base. He pulled out his camera phone and turned on the flashlight.

"I'm going to call you and I want you to leave your phone on speaker so we can hear you clearly, okay?" Jake told Att, concern etched on his gorgeous face.

Att nodded and began to crawl on his stomach below the diadem of the monument. Amy, Jake and Dan were on their stomachs at the edge of the opening peering at Atticus' retreating form.

"Can you hear me, Att?" Dan's voice said into Jake's proffered phone.

No answer. Scuffling sounds. No answer.

"Att?" Jake said, his eyebrows raising.

Amy glanced behind them at Elena and Nico who stood akimbo, motionless.

"Ok, I'm in," came Atticus' reply from deep within the cavity.

"Thank God," was Jake's only reply.

"I'm looking around down here and I can see ancient limestone, just like all the other limestone in the Altis."

"Tell him to feel along the stone. The carving may be very faint and no longer visible in low light." Elena offered from behind.

"Att, Dr. Korkora says to feel the stones. She says the carving may not be deep enough to see in low light. You'll need to feel for it." Amy spoke into the phone.

"On it." Att replied.

Several minutes passed where all they could hear was the breathing and scuffling of Atticus. All of them were losing hope. The longer he was under there, the less chance of finding what they were hoping for.

"Wait a minute—" came Atticus' voice suddenly. "I think I feel something. I'm going to set the phone down and dig. There is some sort of engraving I can feel, but it's half buried in the ground."

Silence as they listened to scraping, grunting and Atticus' heavy breathing. Amy had started scratching at the old blister wound on her neck, long healed, but the pattern of behavior was set. It was her go-to bad habit when she was worried. Jake saw her digging at the spot on her neck and he gently reached over and put his hand on hers to calm her. He gave her a kind smile that reached his eyes and she let out a breath she had been holding.

"He's alright, it's going to be okay," he mouthed to her silently. She nodded in return.

More minutes ticked by. They could hear Atticus working feverishly so they didn't dare interrupt him. Finally, after what seemed like forever, his voice came back to them.

"I found something! There is a large cracked portion of this limestone with the engraving. I can't be sure, but I think the engraving may be the mark from the photo. I took a picture of it with my phone. Also, when I was moving dirt out of the way, the limestone crack came off in my hand. There is a tiny opening that I looked in and I found an old gnarled piece of leather with Greek letters. I think it may be some sort of scytale cipher! I'm coming out now."

"Scytale cipher?" Dan asked.

Jake explained, "It's a way the Spartans used to encode their messages. Many cultures caught on and started their own Scytale writing. You write a message on a piece of parchment wrapped around a staff and then when it was unrolled it could be passed without anyone being able to read it. You also had to have exactly the same diameter of staff in order to wind the letters correctly."

Atticus could be heard making his way back to the opening, once his feet were visible, they all grabbed at him and helped pull him from the small opening.

"Am I ever glad to be out of there!" Atticus said. "Anyone have any water?"

It was only then that they all noticed how filthy Atticus had gotten. He was dusty from his dreads to his shoes. This struck Amy as funny and she started with the giggles.

Dan took up the giggles next, "dude, you look like you took a dust shower."

Atticus stood up and, walking over to Dan, shook like a dog showering Dan with dust.

"Now you've had a dust shower too!"

"Alright, we need to get this out of the sun," Jake said, pulling on a pair of gloves from his backpack and taking the leather thong from his brother. "And we need to get you a shower."

"And I need food, like, super-mega bad," Dan added.

"Ok, then, back to the house and then food," Amy decided.

Thirty minutes later, Atticus was clean, the leather thong had been photographed and they were on their way for some authentic Greek cuisine at a local taverna. Elena had ordered for the table and soon a smorgasbord of varied Greek dishes began to spot their table. Dolmas, souvlaki, grilled fish and lamb and Moussaka, Gyros and Taramasalata with pita showed up. Along with dishes with olives of every color and flavor and the most delectable _kolokythokeftedes_, fried zucchini balls, any of them had ever tasted. They ate and ate. As they ate, the talked.

"How are we supposed to figure out how to decode the leather scytale? It's so old and crusty, there's no way we can make it pliable to be wound around anything." Dan asked with his newly-empty mouth.

"There are new digital cipher technologies archeologists are beginning to use to help with such deciphering." Jake piped up, wiping a bit of sauce from his mouth. "We can load the lettering into a cipher program and let it run. It will spit out whatever it coded on that scytale."

"How do you know about that?" Nico asked, looking at Jake with something like awe. Amy smiled, she remembered being impressed by Jake the first time he mentioned something that he knew all-too-well, but was new to her; the Voynich being one such example.

Matter-of-factly Jake replied, "my father uses programs like this on his excavations all the time."

Elena piped up to answer the unasked question, "They are Mark Rosenbloom's sons, one of my esteemed colleagues in this field. I have not had the pleasure of meeting him, but we've run in similar circles for years."

Nico nodded, then gave Jake a fist bump.

"I have access to dad's program on my laptop. When we're done here, we can run them back at the house."

Just then Dan's phone pinged. He had in incoming text.

"Oh sweet." Dan said, looking up.

"What?" Amy asked, trying a piece of honey baklava the waitress had just delivered. The boys all did the same.

With a full mouth, Dan spoke between bites, "It's Ian. I told him yesterday when we left Boston that we'd be in Greece the next few weeks. He said he's been in Venice on _The Force_ with Cara cruising the Adriatic and he's anchored off port in Zakynthos, waiting for us to join him! Plus, Jonah and Ham have been touring in Italy, so he picked up them up too!"

Whoops of excitement made their way around the table. Amy hadn't seen her cousins in over a year; she was just as thrilled as the rest of them.

"I believe it is time for me to excuse myself. I will speak with you by phone tomorrow once you've had some time to work on the cipher." Elena said, getting up from the table.

"Nico, would you like to join us? We could really use your Greek." Amy asked

Nico hesitated, looking from his mother to Amy and back again.

Elena's face was kind, but blank.  
"If you don't mind, I'd love to come," he said to Amy. Elena gave her son a kiss on each cheek before turning, and, speaking in Greek, they said their good-byes.

Amy paid the waitress while Dan announced, "get all your gear people, we're in for a night on _The Force_!"


	17. Chapter 17

Ch 17

An hour later, they had gotten their packpacks and taken a water taxi to Zykanthos where _The Force_ was anchored. None of the five of them had ever been on a yacht before. Ian met them at the dock, smiling and holding a glass of champagne.

"Welcome, to my yacht." He said, smiling at them. His eyes landed on Nico and silently appraised him before smiling and extending his hand. "Hello."

"Ian, this is Nico." Amy spoke up, "He is Erasmus' son."

Ian's eyes widened, "Erasmus?"

Amy quickly filled Ian in on Dr. Korkora, the Koldewey mark and the Cahill 'C' as well as the leather scytale they had brought with them. Jake chimed in and said he was hoping to work on decoding it once it was scanned.

"Well, let's get aboard and you can get to work. Follow me!"

Ian turned and led the way up the steps to the main deck. It was the most luxurious ship Amy had ever seen. She glanced at Jake, even he had a look of awe on his face. They were led through a leather clad living space and Sherpa throws on all seats. The lights were dimmed and the mirrored surfaces reflected off the white furniture and carpets. The mahogany wood, classic in design added elegance to the room; it was stunning. Ian led on, deeper into the yacht.

"Amy and Jake, I've put you in the Madrigal suite," he gestured to the port side of the yacht and together Amy and Jake poked their head into the room. It was just as luxurious as the living room with an oval bed and mahogany closet against one wall. A small sink and bathroom were off the main room. A bank of windows beside the bed were darkened and lined with silk draperies.

"Once my mother was exposed as a murderer and my father defected into hiding, I renamed all of the suites on board to reflect a more unified Cahill family. They used to be named after famous Lucians, my parents specifically." Ian said with embarrassed distain in his voice.

"This will do." Was all Jake said as he and Amy dropped off their packs.

They continued down the hallway where they found a set of stairs leading down a deck.

"Atticus and Dan, you can bunk in here," Ian said offering them a suite on the starboard side. The boys entered a room with two twin beds against the opposite wall and similar furnishings to the rest of the yacht.

"This place is lit," Dan emoted.

"I agree. V-cool." Atticus added.

"You two sound more like Jonah than yourselves." Amy replied.

"You have to admit, this place is pretty posh, even for Cahills," Dan added.

"Erasmus, uh-I mean Nico, if you'll follow me this way," Ian said, a bit embarrassed.

After everyone had been shown quarters the captain got underway and they set off for the Mediterranean at night.

It was spectacular; the coast of Greece, backlit by the city lights. Their reunion with Jonah and Ham involved lots of fist bumps and high fives from Jonah and a bone-crushing bear hug from Ham. Each of them was so thrilled to see Amy and the others. Jonah and Ham had been the last to see Erasmus alive and they were taken aback to meet his 'mini-me' son, Nico. Jonah had been the one to kill Luna Amato moments after she had murdered Erasmus. Jonah spent a few moments alone talking to Nico.

After they had all settled into a comfortable din, Jake, Atticus, Nico, Cara and Dan all crowded on the curved sofa around Jake's laptop to begin the decoding process. Nico was able to translate the Greek into English for the program while Amy, Ham, Jonah and Ian sat across the space at a smaller table drinking tea and coffee.

"So, Erasmus had a son all this time and we never knew, huh?" Jonah asked rhetorically. He was fiddling with a string he found, leaning forward in his chair, staring at the ground.

Amy glanced at the others. They just stared around at each other too. Finally, she spoke, "Jonah, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have stopped what happened to him. Elena, his partner, we met her. Did you know that they were together for 23 years? She said they never married because of Erasmus' dangerous tendencies to put himself in harm's way."

At this, Amy also looked at the ground. Shaking her head, she continued, "did you know that Erasmus texted me right before he went into that Vesper strong hold to ask if he should follow Luna inside? I told him yes." Amy looked up at Jonah who was staring at her intently.

"If anyone should feel guilty, it should be me. I sent him to his death. I robbed Nico of his father, Elena of her life partner and all of us of a good friend."

Jonah just stared at her, contemplating.

Amy continued, "I spent the better part of a year beating myself up over the dead we have lost because of our family and what we end up doing to save humanity. But Jonah, I'm done with that. I'm done trying to save everyone. I can't. So, I'm not going to try anymore. Erasmus knew this long before I did and he knew what the risks were. Elena said she about lost him when Nico was three and she decided that every year they had together after that was a gift. She got twenty more years than she expected."

Jonah was silent. Finally, he voiced, "I'd never killed anyone before. Or since." He just shook his head and a sad smile appeared. "I'm supposed to be this big gangsta' rapper, but I'd been posin', ya know? Now, rappin' ain't all that, now that I know what it feels like."

"Yeah, but she was a Vesper! If you hadn't, she would have killed you, and me too!" Ham offered, clamping a meaty hand on Jonah's shoulder. "I'm grateful for you, cuz. And I always will be."

"No one ever said being a Cahill was going to be easy. In fact, I've been reminded quite a lot in the past few years how very hard being a Cahill can be." Ian offered, giving each of them a long look in turn.

Amy looked back at Jonah who looked a tiny bit more himself than before. "Jonah, I'm sure Nico was glad you could tell him whatever you said about his father."

Just then, a loud sound came from the five gathered on the sofa. The four of them turned to look at them. "We did it!" Dan shouted, "The program worked!"

Amy, Ian, Jonah and Ham strode over to the others.

"We entered the letters S-N-T-A-I-C-R-A-T-A-H-O-M-E-F into the cypher. Then we let it run. Here's what the program found for us. One of these possible solutions has to be the right one." Jake said, turning the laptop so they all could see it.

"Let me project your screen on the TV" Ian offered, fiddling with a remote for a few moments. Soon Jake's laptop filled the TV screen.

"There were 14 letters we could make out, but that doesn't mean that all 14 had to be used. There could have been a null or maybe even two in there to throw us off" Atticus offered, already getting that diamond-like focus he got when he was studying hard.

"This list has, like, 1,000 possibilities on it!" Dan said skeptically. "Where do we even start? _Machinations_? _Anarchists_? _Marathon_? Oh, I know, how about '_trashman_'? I like that one the best."

"Shut up, Dan." Amy said, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"There are some legitimate possibilities on here," Atticus started. "Thanatos and Chariots for starters."

"Thanatos is Greek mythology, he was the personification of death; the son of Nyx" Nico piped up from the back, where he was leaning against the open window.

"Or Cairn" Cara offered, still seated on the sofa, but staring with rapt attention to the list of possibilities.

"No, too few letters in that one, love." Ian said, giving Cara's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Alright, then eliminate all the words with fewer than 10 letters." Cara suggested.

"What if it isn't just a single word? What if it's two words with a space in between, or three, even?" Amy offered.

"We could be here for days," Hamilton sighed.

Within minutes, the room had dissolved into mini conversations that quickly devolved into arguments. Each of them thought they were correct and soon none of them was even considering real possibilities, just trying to disprove anyone else's theory.

Silently, and without being noticed, Cara stood, straightened her blouse, ran her fingers through her long blonde hair and quietly strode over to the wall where two, pristine, Stradivarius violins hung, their bows mounted next to them. In the melee, no one even heard her quietly tune the violin. Then, setting her left hand on the strings and expertly holding her bow, she began to play _Bach's Concerto for Violin in D Minor_. The lively dark music filled the room with its power and grace. Everyone was instantly quiet. Within 8 bars of her beginning, Atticus let out a squeak and jumped up. He made his way over to her violin's twin hanging on the wall and began to play the accompaniment to this-_duet_.

Jake sighed with dawning comprehension, a somber smile forming. Cara had selected a duet to play and Atticus had picked up on it faster than he had. Jake could have played the piece, but not as well as Atticus.

The mood in the room slowly changed from anger and frustration to silent contemplation. Every one of them was being changed by the music and the melody. It had the desired effect. Calm once again filled the room. Once the Allegro movement of the piece was over, Cara and Atticus didn't miss a beat and moved into the Adagio. The music was beautiful. A private concert with two masterful musicians, being played to calm a tense situation. _It's a stroke of genius_, Amy thought.


	18. Chapter 18

Ch 18

As Cara and Atticus played the final note, Dan looked over to see Ian with tears streaming down his face. It was only then that Dan noticed the childish marker spelling out the owner's name on the bow Cara was holding.

N-a-t-a-l-i-e.

Cara was playing Natalie's violin.

Dan wasn't the only one to notice Ian's silent reaction. Jake was staring somberly at Ian as well. He may not have been Ian's greatest fan, but even he could see how much Ian was hurting right now.

Cara and Att replaced the instruments on the wall as Ian stood. He and Cara met in the middle of the room and simply wrapped their arms around each other and stood fast. No one said a word. They simply watched as Natalie was remembered in this palpable way. Out of the corner of her eye, Amy saw Nico turn and leave the room.

"I think it's time for bed. All of us. We aren't going to get anything more accomplished tonight. We can start anew tomorrow." Amy voiced.

They all silently agreed. The somber mood in the room made each of them realize the unreasonable nature of their earlier bickering. Amy thanked Atticus for playing and then made her way over to Cara. She simply gave Cara a hug and whispered her thanks for her genius move; without her vision, they would have continued to lose sight of what was really important—family.

Jake had made his way over to the main stairwell and was waiting for Amy. As he turned back toward the room, he saw Amy release her hug with Cara and move to hug Ian next. His eyebrows raised as he took in the sight. Amy with her arms around Ian's neck and Ian hugging her back. Normally, this would cause a small alarm to go off inside of him, but tonight, after all that happened, and the gesture Ian had made to invite all of them to his yacht and travel to pick them up, it seemed appropriate. He gave a small nod, turned and headed to their bedroom without her.

Thirty minutes later, Amy slipped under the silk sheets next to Jake and curled up next to him. He wrapped one arm around her and pulled her close.

"You're still awake," Amy whispered.

"I've been thinking," Jake whispered back, "I've misjudged Ian."

Amy silently smiled. This was a very common reaction to Lucians. "You wouldn't be the first. I did too, years ago."

Jake stared at the ceiling and continued, "I met him before Natalie died. He was always concerned for her, but he was arrogant, boastful and ego-centric, but, after Natalie died, it was like he became a shell of his former self. Now, more than three years later, I can't even imagine the old Ian."

Jake added on second thought, "well, at least most of the time I can't." he said, taking in their extravagant surroundings.

"Cara's changed him too," Amy added, tracing a finger over Jake's pectoral muscle.

Jake was silent, thinking. "You've changed me." He finally whispered, glancing at Amy.

She looked back, "We've changed each other. We're two halves of the same whole now."

Jake continued his musing, "I suppose our parents were like that too; relying on each other, needing each other's strength, knowing that one could be strong when the other was weak."

Amy propped up on her elbow, "what are you getting at, Jake?"

He gave her a long, penetrating stare in the moonlight. "Do you ever think about getting married?"

Amy's brow furrowed, "Are you asking me to marry you?" she replied evenly.

Jake just stared at her, no response. In truth, he didn't know how to respond. He didn't feel nervous or anxious at all, he just genuinely wanted more out of their relationship but he wasn't sure what to call what he wanted.

"I don't know" he finally said.

Amy got an amused look on her face.

"I don't think I am," Jake said skeptically. "But, I'm tired of introducing you as the girl I'm dating. You're so much more to me than my girlfriend" he placed his right hand along the side of her head and let his fingers drape into her hair.

Amy's expression softened and she leaned her head into his hand.

"I know what you mean. Boyfriend seems—" Amy was at a loss for the right word.

"trivial, somehow" Jake interjected.

He continued, "Ames, you're every bit as much a family member to me as Atticus is, and tonight, when Ian was weeping for his dead sister, and I looked around that room and saw nothing but Cahills, I was reminded forcibly that Atticus and I are _not_ Cahills. It stings every time."

"Jake—" Amy started.

"I guess I'm just saying I'm ready to do something about that. I don't want to be on the fringes anymore. I don't want to be just your boyfriend. I never told you, but the only way Harvard was going to allow us to be together this semester was if I marked 'married couple' on the application. Otherwise they didn't have a category for us."

Amy's furrowed brow returned, "So, I'm confused, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I want to marry you Amy!" Jake said with exasperation. "but we're both too young, plus, Dad would lose his mind if we showed back up in the summer wearing rings."

Amy could feel her face going red, a part of her couldn't believe they were having this conversation at midnight on Ian's yacht floating in the Mediterranean Sea. The other part of her couldn't believe they hadn't had it sooner. She smiled and felt herself blush, "Your dad's head would explode if we came home married. You're right. Plus, I think Dan might have a stroke. He's not ready for that either."

"So, where's the happy medium?" Jake asked, equally flummoxed.

Amy looked curiously at him, "significant other? Or how about partner?" Amy bit her lip before adding, "or how about lover?"

"Oh my God, I am not calling you my lover. That sounds like something my grandfather would have said."

Amy laughed, "OK, good, I don't like that one either."

Jake sighed, "I think until we both get a little older, and I mean a _little_ older-I'm not waiting forever-I think one of those other words will have to do. I don't love either one, but it's better than girlfriend."

Amy's smile widened, "and they're better than lover."

Jake began to tickle Amy, "God yes! Don't make me sound like I'm a hundred years old!"

They both smiled at each other and sighed. "Do you feel better?" Amy asked in a whisper.

"Yeah. For now. But some day, Amy Cahill, I get to be your husband."

Amy could feel herself melt. She reached up, kissed him gently and added, "and you'll never have to worry about being part of the family ever again."


	19. Chapter 19

Ch 19

In the morning, Jake woke just as the sun was climbing over the horizon. He dressed in jeans and a fitted black t-shirt. He ran his hands through his hair quickly before he made his way to the dining room where one of the wait staff met him. Jake ordered black coffee for himself and coffee with cream for Amy. He stood at the floor length windows overlooking the mist rising from the sea. His arms crossed over his chest. The pinks and oranges of the sunrise making watercolor hues on the water. His mind drifting back to the conversation last night with Amy. He smiled; he was absolutely, completely and in all other regards in love with her; she had a hold over him and he found it intoxicating. Jake was lost in thought when Ian walked in, bleary eyed, running a hand through his thick black hair.

"Good morning," Ian intoned. "Robert, I'd like my Earl Grey extra hot and Cara would black Hazelnut, please."

"Morning," Jake said.

The man who was Robert gave a polite head nod and retreated from the room leaving Jake and Ian alone at the table.

An uncomfortable silence filled the space. Neither of them feeling particularly chatty this morning. As Jake's beverages were delivered, Ian noticed the coffee for Amy and commented,

"Cream, hum? I would have pegged her for a black coffee drinker."

"She only likes a little cream, no sugar." Jake offered.

"No, of course not. Not for our Amy." Ian mused, smiling. "She's too tough for sugar."

Jake gave a weak smile. The thought of Amy with some frou-frou coffee drink made him smile.

Ian turned and studied Jake. Jake, taking a sip of his coffee felt Ian's gaze and turned uncomfortably to him. Jake's eyes rose, wordlessly asking Ian why the gaze.

"Jake, may I ask you a question of the, sensitive variety?"

Jake let out a breath he held and gave Ian a shrug. "Depends on how sensitive, I guess."

Ian hesitated while Robert delivered his tea and Cara's coffee. Finally, Ian began, "Do…you…ever find yourself…doubting yourself because of Amy?"

Jake looked confused. Ian tried to clarify, "I mean, do you ever find yourself more confident in areas where you are not with Amy than those where you are together?"

Jake was skeptical of the question, "is this a rhetorical question?"

Ian gave a small laugh, "No, no…not at all. I've always wondered what it would be like to date Amy." At this, Jake's skepticism turned into something more like jealousy. He scowled. He didn't like this line of questioning at all. Ian quickly tried to clarify.

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in dating her, not anymore at least. I will admit, when were younger, I was intrigued by her. She seemed one thing, but it turned out that she was something else entirely. I always thought that if she and I were to ever date, I would find myself questioning my every move. My every decision." At this, Ian got a far off look in his eyes and fell silent. Jake still didn't quite know what to make of Ian's question, but he was at least pacified that it was indeed rhetorical in nature.

Jake took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he thought. Finally, he spoke, "No, I don't think I do. If anything, she makes me sharper somehow. We sort of…balance each other." Jake gave a small snort and shook his head comically. "We drive each other crazy sometimes because we're both Alphas. She tries the whole 'I'm-the-head-of-the-Cahills' line on me, but it doesn't work."

Ian smiled, studying Jake. "I suspect that is part of the reason she loves you."

Jake shrugged, "maybe." He was quiet for several moments before quietly adding, "sometimes I think she could do a lot better."

Ian raised his eyebrows at Jake, "better? Jake, need I remind you that few of us would be alive today if it weren't for you and your little brother?"

Jake smiled and studied his coffee cup in his hands.

Ian watched Jake for a few moments before adding, "I know I tease you more than I should, but that's only because I saw a worthy adversary when we first met. In truth, you are, as it were, perfect for Amy. You are exactly who she needs and I expect she is exactly who you need."

Both were quiet, contemplating their words. Finally, Jake spoke.

"And Cara? Is she perfect for you?"

"That's part of the reason I asked you my question." Ian said, "I find myself doubting every decision I make when Cara is around. It's maddening."

Jake sighed. "I wouldn't doubt your abilities to lead Ian. I've watched you and Cara together. You and she have a playful banter between the two of you, but I think she respects you."

Ian shook his head slowly, "Some days I'm not sure."

Jake leaned forward and looked squarely at Ian, "Ian, you have to remember where she came from. She's a hacker, she's Pierce's daughter and she didn't exactly have any strong female role-models in her childhood. You talk about an Alpha, well, Cara's it. She's a self-made millionaire who relies on her clients being untrustworthy. Of course she's going to doubt. She's in the business of doubting everyone and everything."

"I just wish she would stop voicing her doubts." Ian said quietly.

"That's easy to fix," Jake said, rising from his chair. "The next time it happens, call her out on it right then and there, no matter who's in the room." Ian shook his head and looked away.

"I can't do that."

"Why? Because you're in love with her? Ian, we've all seen it. You two are crazy about each other, but you have a weird hurtful banter between the two of you. I promise you, if you call her on it the next time it happens, she would stop it. You only get treated the way you allow people to treat you. You stood up to your mother over and over. I saw it. It's inside of you Ian and if you truly love Cara, like I suspect you do, then you have to develop an unbreakable trust with her and there is no room for hurtful sarcasm in your relationship."

At this, Jake turned toward the staircase. Neither he, nor Ian saw the blonde head of Cara slip behind a door, having heard every word of their conversation.


	20. Chapter 20

Ch 20

As most of them hadn't fallen asleep until well after midnight, the morning was quiet on the ship. Ian and Jake had retreated back to their rooms to deliver coffee to the women they loved. Amy sat up in bed and she and Jake tried to work on the cipher together as they drank coffee and talked. Ian returned to the master suite to find Cara sitting up on the edge of the bed, fully dressed, bed made. Ian knew something was up, instantly.

"Close the door, we should talk."

Later that morning, everyone was crowded around the round dining table, discussing the progress Amy and Jake had made. Amy explained over omelets made-to-order, orange juice, croissants and fresh pineapple that she and Jake had narrowed the list of possible words down to about 30 choices. They had used a filter app that narrowed it down to locations, Greek historical documents and real or mythological people.

Just then, Cara and Ian walked in the room, holding hands. "Did we miss anything?"

"We were just deciding that this long list is actually only about 30 choices. Amy and Jake think it could only be locations, documents and real or mythological beings." Dan said.

"I was going to offer last night to try to write a code that would virtually 'wrap' the leather around various diameters of wood. That way you could actually see the words. Sometimes seeing it is better than guessing on paper," Cara offered. She eyed Jake intently as she said this phrase.

"You could do that?" Amy asked.

"Yes, give me a few minutes to write the program and then I'll need someone to read the original Greek letters to me."

"I can do that." Nico offered. He had been quiet up to this point, watching Cara, Ian and Jake intently.

Cara situated herself between Nico and Atticus, the two most likely to be helpful with decoding. "Ok, I think I'm ready."

Nico carefully pointed out which Greek letters she needed to enter onto her virtual scytale. When all 14 had been entered, Cara's hands flew across her keyboard writing the code needed to decode this hint.

Jake, Amy, Ian and Dan crowded behind Cara and watched 'April May' work. She was a genius and she had several possible decodings within a few moments. "Where is the list you and Jake came up with?" Cara asked Amy.

She slid the list of possible words across the table to her. It hit her keyboard at the exact moment several other things happened. First, Atticus' face lit up with dawning recognition and Nico made a sound something like 'ahhh' as he saw the same thing Atticus did.

"Did I miss something?" Ian asked.

"We've been starting with the wrong letter!" Atticus spoke as the computer program started with the letter 'R' instead of the 'M' that was listed first on the leather scytale.

All of them quickly crowded to look at the list Amy and Jake had compiled to see which began with an 'R'.

"Rhamnous!" Jake shouted in unison with Atticus and Nico.

"Is this supposed to mean something to me?" Dan asked.

"Rhamnous is an ancient city situated in what is known as Attica, Greece. It's well researched and excavated. Tons of discoveries have been made there, including the only known Temple to Nemesis, which, in actuality, was probably a good thing because she was the Goddess of retribution; probably good that there aren't any more temples like hers."

Jake smiled, "And, the eponym for your name; Atticus! Although, I'm pretty sure Astrid picked it for literary purposes and not archeological ones."

Hamilton looked over at Jonah for help. "Dude, I don't understand much of what they both just said. Amy, where did you find these two walking encyclopedias?"

Jonah just smiled and looked with awe at Jake and Atticus, "I don't know bro, but their mad smarts have saved our necks more than once!"

"Attica is east of Athens. Why don't you dock in Athens and then you can travel together from there?" Nico suggested.

Ian went to find the captain while the others wanted to know more about Rhamnous and their next destination. Between Jake, Atticus and Nico everyone had a good primmer on ancient Greece.

"We still don't know where in Rhamnous we're supposed to be looking," Dan said.

Amy pulled open her own laptop and found a Google map of the ancient city and began to look around. "There are tons of foundations left and of course, the temple of Nemesis, but it is also hilly and there are cliffs, and a beach."

All of them crowded around the laptop as Atticus explained what ruins they were seeing and the significance of the site. After a long time, it was decided that due to its fame, the most likely location for a hidden clue would be in the cliffs along the beach instead of the completely excavated site that was well known and researched. The captain laid in a course for Athens and he told them they would be arriving in a couple of hours.

Ham, Jonah and Dan all started playing on Dan's laptop, no doubt looking at their favorite YouTube channels. Amy, Atticus and Cara continued to peruse her laptop to learn as much about Rhamnous and Attica as they could find. Ian however, motioned over to Jake to join him on the outdoor sofa under the awning.

"What's up?" Jake said, taking a seat across from Ian.

"I wanted to say thank you." Ian said in his clipped accent. He was stretched out with his ankles crossed.

Jake's brow furrowed, "for what?"

"Well, neither of us knew it, but Cara had been standing outside the dining room this morning when she heard us talking and, well, she heard the whole thing. We ended up having a very good, honest discussion in our room. It's—" Ian said, but cut himself off, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm. He had such a hard time saying emotional things, especially to _Jake_, but, seeing as Jake was the one to call the behavior out and he was also the only other person on board in a lasting relationship, Ian swallowed his pride and proceeded.

"It's difficult," he began again, "for a Lucian to trust completely."

Jake wanted to roll his eyes, badly, but he resisted.

Ian continued, "but, I thought a lot about what you said and so did Cara. She apologized for her hurtful comments to me and I accepted her apology."

Jake waited for Ian to continue, but seeing Ian was done, Jake added, "And?"

"And what?"

"And? What did you decide? Are you two able to start trusting each other or not?" Jake said, leaning forward on his knees and eyeing Ian with great skepticism.

Ian sniffed and looked out to sea before returning with, "well, some parts of the conversation shall remain private, but suffice it to say that we are…healthier than we were before. We—" Ian cut himself off again, but this time he got a mischievous smile on his face and Jake didn't need to hear any more.

"Ok, ok, I got it, say no more—please!" He said throwing his hands up in mock surrender. He didn't need any details of Ian and Cara's sex life. He stood, looked at Ian and with genuine feeling, added, "I'm really glad Ian. You two really are good together. I'm happy for you, both of you," and walked off.


	21. Chapter 21

Ch 21

With an hour to go before arriving in Athens, Jake found himself staring out the stern of the yacht watching the churning water pour out behind, creating a wake. He was thinking about Amy, Ian, Cara, the scytale, and about a hundred other things.

"There's something peaceful about a wake."

Jake jumped. He hadn't heard Nico approach.

Nico smiled, "sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright," Jake said, smiling. "After hanging out with Cahills this long, it takes a lot to actually scare me anymore."

"How long _have_ you been hanging out with Cahills?" Nico asked.

Jake smiled and looked back at the wake, "Well, it's a long story."

Now it was Nico's turn to smile, "I have exactly an hour; feel like telling it?"

Jake and Nico found seats on the leather sofas at the stern, and Jake filled him in on his history with Amy and Dan, his father and traveling all over the world helping him, defeating the Vespers, losing his mother, Atticus being a guardian, defeating Pierce, Cara being Pierce's daughter, taking a year off, starting back at Harvard, finding the missing Gardner museum art and now studying abroad with Amy at Olympia. After Jake had given the rundown, Nico was quiet.

After studying Jake for a few moments, he spoke, "You know, I've been watching you interact with everyone since I met you and you're an interesting study."

Jake was puzzled. "Interesting study?"

"I'm a psychologist." Nico said blandly.

"You are?" Jake said flummoxed. "I thought you were studying archeology like your mother!"

Nico smiled. "No. None of you asked me my profession, so I thought I'd just watch and do my own observations."

"How old are you?" Jake asked, still trying to wrap his head around Nico's pronouncement.

Nico smiled and laughed softly. "I'm 26. I've been out of school a few months now. I joined a practice in Athens. In fact, I need to get back to my life. I have clients to see tomorrow."

Jake was dumbfounded. Finally, he found his voice, "I had no idea. I assumed you were an archeologist and I was wrong, please forgive me."

"Nothing to forgive. You all have been very busy since I met you." Nico said smiling.

"You said I'm an interesting study. What did you mean by that?" Jake asked.

Nico took a sip of his wine, and stretched out eyeing the others in the living room all laughing, joking and goofing off. "I could tell within the first few minutes of meeting the four of you that you are the de facto leader. I know, I know, you're going to tell me that Amy's the head of the family, but I observed you two trade off leadership with ease. I suspected you were a couple when we met, but it wasn't until I saw you at lunch yesterday that I confirmed my suspicions. In that restaurant, when you picked off each other's plates and seemed to foresee what the other needed. I decided to watch you two as my primary study. It's been fun."

Jake smiled. He thought of how in tune with each other they had become and he knew her better than he knew himself it seemed.

"What is your professional opinion then?"

Nico laughed a little, "No professional opinion needed! You are the Yin to her Yang! Anyone with eyeballs can see how much you love each other. I am jealous, quite frankly. I haven't found my Yang just yet."

Amy had been talking and joking with Jonah and Hamilton when she eyed Jake and Nico sitting in an apparent deep conversation just outside on the stern. She excused herself and began to make her way over to them. She caught snippets of their conversation as she drew nearer.

"What are you two up to?" She said coming up behind Jake and placing her hands on his shoulders.

Nico smiled at her, Jake reached back and grabbed her hand with his own and craning his neck, turned to look at her.

"We were just talking about you."

"And, what were you discussing?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

Jake got a broad smile on his face and pulled her down so that she was forced to land in his lap on the sofa. "Oh, just some of your finer qualities, like your willingness to put up with a boat full of testosterone and you still manage to make us all jump to attention."

Amy landed awkwardly on Jake and almost toppled on the floor, she let out a little scream but Jake caught her and held on fast, smiling at her.

Nico laughed. "See? See what I mean? You two trade off being in charge and have a very natural ease with each other. You've been fun to observe. Thank you for the chance."

He got up, "and now I'm going to gather my things, because, unless my eyes deceive me, we are pulling into the harbor very soon."

As if on cue, the occupants of the yacht could feel the engines begin to slow as they approached the coast off of Athens.

Ian spoke, "The captain says we'll be docking in 10 minutes, time to get our things and meet here."

"I'll get us cars for the journey," Hamilton offered pulling out his cell phone and disappearing inside.

As Amy and Jake made it back to the 'Madrigal Suite' to retrieve their things, Amy asked, "What did Nico mean when he said _we've been fun to observe?_"

Jake filled her in on their conversation and that Nico wasn't an archeologist, but rather a Psychologist. Amy was just as thunderstruck as Jake. "I had no idea." She said. "It makes sense though, he was very observant this whole trip. I don't think he said a paragraph to me the whole time he was on board."

Jake smiled, and wrapped his hands around her waist, "he said it was very clear to him that we love each other and he thought I was the Yin to your Yang."

Amy smiled. "I like that. It's a great visual," she said thinking of the famous image of two swirls twisted around each other; one black and one white.

"I thought so too." Jake said, slowly giving her a tender kiss.

"Come on" Amy said, grabbing her pack, "I have a feeling we're going to make a big discovery today." And together they headed back up to find the others.


	22. Chapter 22

Ch 22

After saying goodbye to Nico who disappeared into the crowd just as easily as his father always did, they said their goodbyes to Ian and Cara next.

"Where are you headed next?" Amy asked after hugging Ian goodbye.

"Well, home, actually." He said with an uncharacteristic shy smile. "Cara has agreed to move in with me, full time and, well, I think it's time I started at Oxford."

Amy was floored. "Oxford?"

"Yes, my father went there and we have plenty of Lucian connections there so I think it's high time I decided what to do with myself."

Amy smiled at him and gave his arm a squeeze, "Ian, I have no doubt you'll do great. What is Cara going to do?"

"Run Waldo from England. She said taking this much time off has made her lazy. She's anxious to get back to work. You know her, you can't keep April May down for long!" Ian gazed longingly at Cara who was giving Atticus a hug goodbye.

"Please keep me posted, will you?" Amy said as she stepped off _The Force_ onto the dock.

"I will," Ian said, "I promise."

The six of them waved at Ian and Cara until they could no longer make out the yacht from the shore. They walked five blocks to hire two cars from a man called 'Adonis' who looked nothing like one. He was skeptical about renting to six young people, all of whom were teenagers except Jake, until Amy pulled out a wad of cash. Adonis simply eyed Amy, smiled a gold-toothed smile and flipped her two pairs of keys.

They piled in two open-topped Mini Coopers for the 40-mile drive to Rhamnous; Amy, Jake and Atticus in the front Mini and the other boys behind them with Ham driving. As they pulled into the village, the road got rougher and rougher until they were moving at a crawl down a steep incline through scrub vegetation toward the cliffs and beach beyond.

Atticus had a book out on his lap and read portions of it to Amy and Jake, "Rhamnous was a part of Ancient Attica, which was chiefly known as a place to worship the statue of Nemesis. The statue was colossal, 10 cubits in height, and on its base were several figures in relief. The Ancient Rhamnousians admired Nemesis for her retribution against those exhibiting hubris."

"Is that where we get the term nemesis?" Amy asked the brothers.

"Yes, her name literally means 'without remorse'." Jake added from the driver's seat. "This very remote part of Attica was set aside specifically for Nemesis because she was an unforgiving Goddess. So, the ancient Greeks had to make a trek out here on purpose to seek retribution from her. The idea being that in order to make this long of a journey, you would have plenty of time to change your mind before asking her to unleash wrath upon your enemies, in essence, allowing time for forgiveness."

"Promoting a type of grace," Amy added thoughtfully.

The Mini slowed as the ruins of the temple came into view. The site was surrounded on three sides by tall cliffs shielding the beach from view, though they could hear the waves as they all got out of the vehicles.

"Now what?" Dan asked looking around. "What exactly are we looking for?"

"I suspect it'll be some sort of stele." Jake said matter-of-factly, looking around and not at his non-archeologist companions.

Dan had noticed that every once in a while, Jake or Atticus would exhibit some very '_Rosenbloom_' characteristic; namely, not being able to read the room. _It must come with having a brain the size of Texas_, he figured.

Dan sighed loudly and rolled his eyes, "In English, genius."

Jake looked around, seeing four pairs of irritated eyes on him. "Oh, uh, sorry. It'll be a big flat stone with carvings all over it. If we're lucky it'll be as tall as you are."

"And, this big-ass stone is just sitting around? Nobody's ever found it before?" Jonah asked.

This time Amy answered, "It'll be hidden, perhaps even buried. We think it may be hidden in these cliffs" she said indicating the those to her right.

"Then let's get looking," Ham said, starting to stride off toward the beach path.

Everyone followed suit. It was a long, grueling hike over and through the cliffs, but finally, they emptied into a clearing where pristine clear waters and a pebble beach met them, but, so did a shock of _epic_ proportions. This beach, it appeared, was a completely nude beach.


	23. Chapter 23

Ch 23

Each of them had a different reaction to seeing a bunch of naked people milling about on a beach in broad daylight. Amy and Jake were annoyed; this made their job more difficult. Jonah and Hamilton were a mixture of annoyance and disgust, but Dan and Atticus were the most uncomfortable. They vacillated between intrigue and embarrassment.

"Oh my gosh, they're nudists!" said 14-year-old Atticus in an unnaturally high-pitched voice, clearly embarrassed.

"Sweet!" Dan said, craning his neck to get a better view around Hamilton.

"Be careful what you wish for, yo!" Jonah said, taking a step back. "Nudists aren't all super models, cuz. Some of them look like Aunt Beatrice."

That had done it. Dan snapped out of his desire to stare and shot Jonah a look of pure loathing. "That is disgusting. Why would you say such a thing? Are you trying to make me puke?"

"No, homie, it's straight up the truth! I get invited to all sorts of places in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, you name it and people are always taking their clothes off in warm places. Let me just say this: unless you are _clutch_ with your workouts, you should _not _be taking off your drawers in public." At this proclamation, Jonah gave all of them a knowing look with a dramatically slow head nod.

"There's a sign over here in Greek. Anybody able to read it?" Ham said.

Everyone meandered over to the red sign. Atticus began to read aloud:

_Naturalist beach. No clothing permitted. No exceptions. No cameras or recording devices allowed. All beachgoers shall be coupled. No unaccompanied males without female chaperones. _

"WHAT!?" Hamilton shouted. "That's discrimination!" Hamilton had recently come out to his family and close friends.

Jonah put his hand on his cousin's shoulder, "Sorry cuz, this beach is old school. They aren't _woke_ like we want them to be. No worries. I'll hang with you, any time, any place."

Jake interjected, "Actually, none of us can go on this beach, unless Amy accompanies one of us."

Everyone was silent, trying to think of another way around the rules.

"I guess that's it then, we'll have to find another way to search the cliffs." Dan said, turning back toward the way they came.

Amy, however, had turned toward the beach and seemed to be searching for something, "Maybe not," she said.

"Jake, you and I can go on this beach and search, everyone else has to head back to the cars and wait for us there."

Four pairs of eyes swung around and stared at Amy, then at Jake, and back to her.

"Now, wait just a minute, I am _not_ comfortable with—" Jake started. Amy held up her hand to stop him.

"We don't have any other options. See those buoys out in the water? Those are warnings to boats to stay away from the shore in this area. I'm sure they've been put up to keep gawkers away with telephoto lenses. It makes sense really. It means that even if you four try to charter a boat, you won't be able to get anywhere near the cliffs. The beach is the only option we have and seeing as I'm the only female in our group, I can only accompany one of you." Amy said, taking a breath and looking at the five boys with her.

She continued, a little pink now, "I like all of you just fine, but seeing as only one of you has actually seen me naked, I'm going to limit my exposure to just him. I'm sure you are all okay with that."

The boys all turned various shades of pink or red, no doubt envisioning Amy naked with Jake. Nods and murmurs all around. All except Jake who was standing akimbo giving Amy a look of greatest disbelief.

"Guys, can you give us a few minutes please?" Jake said through gritted teeth. The others moved off out of earshot.

Jake moved closer to Amy so they could talk in low voices. "I am not okay with this Amy. We are not taking our clothes off to go explore some cliffs in the hopes of finding this stele there!"

"Why not?" Amy said fixing him with a determined stare. "I don't see how we're going to do it any other way. Even if we come back at night, there is no guarantee there won't still be nudists on this beach and we might be asked to disrobe then. Plus, it will be too dark to explore! Now is our only real shot."

Jake's face was almost purple with frustration. "I am not letting you strip _bare_ and walk around in front of those men down there!"

"I'll be fine Jake! They all have to be coupled too, remember?"

"You don't get it! I don't want them looking at you! Do you have any idea—" Jake started then cut himself off, turning and walking a step away while deep breathing. He turned back to her to finish his sentence "—do you have any idea what you do to men?" then, as if answering his own question, he added under his breath, his thoughts a stream of consciousness, "—of course you don't. You have no idea of your own sex appeal, you never have. That's what you've never understood about yourself. You are so attractive but you can't see it, at all."

"Jake it's not like that! These people-they're nudists! They're used to being undressed. Some of them might be our age, but most of them look to be quite a bit older. You're making a big deal out of nothing!"

"No, I'm NOT!" Jake fairly shouted. "Why the hell do you think so many men subscribe to Playboy? Why is porn so addictive? People like watching, Amy!"

Amy just stood there, staring at him. Waiting him out. He was being overprotective again.

Jake decided to try another tactic, "Amy, we are supposed to be respected scholars. I guarantee you my father, or Dr. Korkora, never stripped naked to look for any archeological artifacts."

Amy's response was ready, "Then that explains why they've never found the clue. If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always gotten. Isn't that the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?"

Jake wasn't sold. "Amy, I swore to you I'd protect you, and this?" he gestured to the beach, "isn't protection. You're mine and I refuse to let you go out there and walk around."

He turned his back and took a few steps away from the beach, expecting this discussion to sway her decision. Instead, Amy took advantage of his back being turned and walked with purpose down toward the beach, pulling her shirt over her head as she walked. Her bra came off next. By the time Jake turned around, Amy was stripping off her shorts and all of it was being loaded into her backpack. He nearly went into cardiac arrest.


	24. Chapter 24

Ch 24

Jonah, Ham, Atticus and Dan stood a few yards away as Amy and Jake fought about what to do at the beach.  
"Yo, I feel for my man Jake, I wouldn't feel comfortable if my shorty was having to strut her bits for all the beach to see. That's mad uncomfortable." Jonah chimed in, watching Jake talk animatedly to Amy, swinging his arms around in grand style.

"I don't know, I'm with her on this one." Ham said. "She should be able to walk where she wants, who cares who sees!"

"Can we please stop talking about my _sister?_" Dan said, wincing a little.

"Yeah, I don't really want to see my brother naked either," Att added, then under his breath to Dan he added, "I mean, I already feel bad enough about myself without him being on display for all of you to compare."

The boys all drew quiet as they watched Amy and Jake argue. Suddenly, Jake turned away and Amy took off toward the beach. She pulled her shirt off over her head as she went, then she unhooked her bra and removed it. She was walking away from all of them, so the most any of them saw was a little side boob. Their faces must have registered their shock because Jake took one look at their faces and put two-and-two together before whipping back around to see Amy at the bottom of the path, now pulling down her shorts and panties.

He let out a strangled cry and shouted up to all of the boys, "get out of here! We'll meet you at the cars!" Then he sprinted down the path to catch up with Amy.

The boys didn't hesitate, Dan in the lead, they fairly sprinted back up the path. Atticus couldn't resist however, and glanced back behind him once to see Amy standing on the beach, completely naked and a fully clothed Jake arguing with her once again. Something stirred in Atticus, but he batted it away and caught up with the group headed to the cars.

Jake was apoplectic. Amy tried to convince him the soundness of this plan, but he couldn't get past the way he felt seeing her bare in this place. Their arguing was drawing more eyes than if they just came quietly. In the end, he couldn't do it. He turned and stomped back up the path to the break in the cliffs and mumbled something about keeping her phone handy. Amy just shook her head and turned back to her task.

As Jake made his way back to the others, he heard talking to his right. The rest of the boys had decided to explore the ruins of the temple. He slowly veered off toward them. He wasn't quite sure what to say to them about leaving Amy alone on the beach, but he was spared having to explain himself when the boys called out for him to hurry over.

"Jake, we think we found something!" Atticus called, "I was just getting ready to text you guys. Ham was so frustrated that he picked this enormous slab of marble up and flipped it. This was on the other side!"

Jake hurried over. The five of them bent over the large slab of marble lying on the ground with markings that looked like various types of lines and squares carved on it.

"It's cuneiform script!" Jake said excitedly.

Atticus frowned, "No, it isn't." Atticus had gone quiet, simply trailing his hand over the ancient writing. Everyone could see his brain spinning on high.

Jake didn't contradict Atticus. He'd seen that look too many times on his little brother's face to doubt his words.

"I think…" Atticus started, "I think this might be Linear B script."

Jake's eyes widened, "no way."

"What does that mean? And, just as an aside, in case anyone cares, where the hell is Amy?" Dan said.

Two conversations popped up simultaneously, one about Amy and the other about Linear B. Jake was thrust into both conversations.

"Everybody shut up!" Ham bellowed.

Silence ensued immediately. All eyes turned to Jake.

"Amy is exploring the beach on her own," Jake said, throwing his hands in the air and briefly closing his eyes and shaking his head in utter frustration. "This, as Atticus said, looks like Linear B script."

Atticus took over, trying to explain. "Linear B is a syllabic script first studied by Sir Arthur Evans, a famous archeologist that was used for writing Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. It wasn't until the 1950's however that Michael Ventris, total unknown genius, was able to decipher it."

"Can you read it?" Dan asked.

"No, but Dad might be able to." Atticus started, pulling out his phone.

"Wait a minute," Jake said, putting his hand on Att's phone. "Think about this, if we really have discovered a new stele of Linear B script, this will rock the world. We have to go through the proper channels. There are serious bad feelings amongst countries where archeologists just took what they found back to their home country and put items in their museums without the host country getting credit or the chance to house it at home."

"No more bad juju." Jonah offered in summation.

"Exactly." Jake said, smiling at Jonah. "We need to contact Dr. Korkora first."

Then, as if seeing the situation clearly for the first time, Jake wrinkled up his brow and looked at the stele, then at Hamilton, then back at the stone.

"Ham…you just, you know, flipped this thing?" Jake was skeptical. It had to weigh a literal ton.

Ham, who had been watching with detached interest suddenly came alive.

"Yep, just like flipping a tractor tire."

Jake stared at him with mouth agape.

Dan started to laugh. "Welcome to the Tomas branch," he said reaching over and pushing up on Jake's chin to close his mouth. "Been flipping tractor tires, Mini Coopers and other small vehicles for over 500 years."


	25. Chapter 25

Ch 25

Amy was about to abandon her search on the beach. She had been at it for over 30 minutes. She hated to admit it, but it was awful being out here exposed and alone. Plus, the pebble beach hurt her feet. It wasn't soft white sand like she had hoped. The cave openings were small and pretty well explored. Most had some sort of graffiti in them. She sighed, and turned toward the beach entrance when something on the far side of the beach caught her eye. From this distance she could see a faint, white line carved into the dark rockface. As she mentally traced the line, she noticed it seemed to form some sort of letter, straight line, slanted line, opposite slanted line, then, nothing. At the apex where the two slanted lines met there was a large fissure in the rockface. Amy made her way across the beach, backpack in tow. She felt her cell phone buzz, but she ignored it. She wasn't ready to have another argument with Jake.

As she approached the rock, she could make out the lines less clearly. _They must have been meant to be seen from a distance_, she thought. It was like Pointillism; best viewed at a few meters. She kept her eyes trained on the fissure. She ran her hands over the surface of the rock, it was smooth except for-_what was this?_ Amy knelt down and ran her hands over a carved portion of the rock. She was about to excuse it as random graffiti markings when two letters caught her eye. She could clearly feel an 'H' and a 'C'.

Amy's mind began to race. She glanced in the fissure, but it was too dark and too narrow to see anything inside. She opened her pack and pulled out her cell phone. She used the flashlight feature to shine down into the fissure. There was something in there! It was thin, but it looked to be wrapped in some sort of plastic. She stood up. Clicked off the flashlight and began to look for something to pry the object out of the crack. As she dug through her pack, she began to replay the events that led her to this beach. First, finding the dual Koldewey and Cahill marks in the photo, the scytale spelling out Rhamnous and finally, what was it that she had seen carved on the rockface? One straight line connected to a slanted line and then another slanted line running in the opposite direction…it almost looked like the first three lines of a letter-

"M" Amy said, dropping her backpack completely. She walked further around the rockface and stood back away from it. There! She could see the final vertical line making the complete letter M.

"Madrigal." Amy whispered. It wasn't a true Madrigal M, but, Amy reasoned, if it had been made hastily, or with crude carving tools, it would have to do. Now with renewed vigor, Amy raced back to the fissure and felt around for more of that carving. Sure enough, with the help of her flashlight, she could see the whole thing now.

A T + H C

Amy put her hand over her mouth. _Arthur Trent plus Hope Cahill_, carved into the rock just below the crack. She wanted to cry. She had to get that object out. At that moment, however, Amy had a sixth-sense steal over her that she was being watched.

She whipped around; there stood Jake. Face impassive, backpack hanging from one hand, and only wearing his sandals.

The two stood facing each other for a long while. Neither one willing to be the first to speak.

Finally, Jake grumbled, "You didn't answer your texts."

Amy shrugged. "I didn't feel like it."

Jake's shoulders slumped and he let out a small sigh. "We found something Amy. Something potentially life altering."

"Me too," was all she said.

Jake's eyebrows creased, "what did you find?"

"You're staring at it." Amy jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the rock behind her.

"I think my mom left something here."

Amy proceeded to show Jake the outline of the M (which, try as he might, he couldn't make out), the carvings of her parent's initials and the object, whatever it was, wedged down in the crevice.

"I've got an idea," Jake said, pulling out his cell phone and drafting a text to Atticus.

Angry shouting came from two men who were gesturing and speaking animatedly in their direction. Jake kept texting and managed to hit 'send' just as the men batted the cell phone out of Jake's hands.

Amy guessed what this was about. "That's a recording device, you aren't allowed to use those here."

Amy stepped up to try and diffuse the situation. She put her hand on Jake's chest and said in dramatically slow, loud tone, "He's-with-me." She made a motion with her index finger between the two of them. She may not have spoken Greek, but some symbols were clear.

Jake, trying to be helpful, put his arm around Amy's waist. This angered the men even more and they began berating Jake even louder. Jake raised his hands in a gesture meant to indicate 'retreat'.

Amy had a brilliant idea. She reached over, grabbed Jake by the face and planted a kiss on him, long and hard. The men fell silent. Amy and Jake broke apart. For added measure, Amy traced the shape of a heart on Jake's chest, then repeated the shape on her own chest, just above her heart. Then she touched the two spots slowly with her index finger.

One of the men finally said, "Agápi?"

Amy had enough Latin to know Agapé meant love, and this was so similar, it had to be the Greek version.

Jake, who was well versed in Latin, nodded and said, "Nai". Amy had picked up on a few words and this one meant 'Yes.' The men backed away shaking angry fists at Jake's cell phone.

"Well, that was interesting."

Amy said nothing. She was still mad at Jake for causing such a stir earlier. Jake, not getting any sort of response from Amy, turned toward her.

"Ames, I'm sorry. I flew off the handle earlier. I should have come with you right away."

Amy wasn't ready to let him off the hook quite that easily.

Jake continued, "Amy, please. I'm so sorry. I just, I…, I HATE this beach. I hate that you're here, I hate that _I'm_ here!"

Amy looked at him. His eyes were pleading and the fact that he was standing here, completely exposed, miserable, begging for forgiveness broke Amy's resolve. She cracked a small grin.

"Alright." She said tiredly, glancing up and down his frame. Despite living together and being in a healthy relationship, she rarely got the chance to really marvel at his physique. They usually had at least one article of clothing on, or under covers, or in the shower. Never was it in bright sunlight and devoid of objects to impede her view. Every part of him was attractive.

He caught her gawking. "You like the view?" he said sarcastically, raising his eyebrows. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

Amy nodded and made to hug him. Jake bristled and put his hands out to stop her. He gave a tiny shake of his head.

Hurt, Amy furrowed her brow. "What? Can't I even give you a hug?"

"Not while you're naked. You can hug me later."

Amy's puzzlement grew, until Jake glanced down at himself. He had a semi.

Dawning comprehension clicked. She embarrassedly turned away, back to the rock face. Jake was grateful for the distraction as well.

"Who did you text?" She asked.

"Att. I think I know a way to pry that object out."

"How?"

"Give me about 5 minutes. I told him to meet at the walkway to the beach. Stay here. I'll be right back."


	26. Chapter 26

Ch 26

Jake pulled on his jeans just out of sight before meeting his brother at the walkway. Atticus was standing there with his hand over his eyes.

"I'm dressed Att." Jake said with an eye roll and a wry smile,

Atticus opened one eye tentatively and breathed a sigh of relief. "What in the heck do you need _these_ for?" Atticus stuck out his hand in which both oil dipsticks from the engines were clenched. "Find an oil well?"

"I'll explain when we're done. Is Dr. Korkora here yet?"

"No, but she will be. You guys better hurry up." Atticus added, then turned away and ran back up the path.

Jake and Amy worked with the long thin strips of metal until they had managed to get them under the item in the crevice. Eventually, working together, they were able to raise the object high enough for Amy to use two slender finders and pinch it out.

"It's a notebook!" Amy cried with delight.

It was all she could do not to drop to the ground and begin to flip through it.

Jake gave her a moment to just appreciate her find; a notebook, most likely put there by her mother. Finally, Jake gently said, "Ames, we have to go."

They stood to leave, but before leaving, Jake pulled out his pocketknife, and with great care, carved

J R + A C

right below her parent's initials.

With the notebook carefully tucked in her backpack, the two of them ran back to the beach entrance pulling on clothing as they went. By the time they reached the path, they were dressed.

"Let's not ever do that again," Jake said breathlessly.

"Okay by me," Amy agreed.

At the site of the temple, Dr. Korkora and her team had shown up, bringing with them a heavy-duty flatbed trailer. Atticus had Dr. Rosenbloom on Skype and the two were speaking excitedly. Amy gave Jake's hand a squeeze as he ran off to join them.

Dan slowly walked toward his sister. It took Amy a long moment to realize Hamilton and Jonah weren't there.

"Where are Jonah and Ham?"

Dan smiled wryly. "Well, when Atticus got his father on the phone, he asked who found it. Ham didn't volunteer, so Jonah told Dr. Rosenbloom. He it is customary for the discoverer to get credit and name the object."

Amy could just imagine this. Ham probably wanted nothing to do with this. "Poor Ham. He had to have been so out of his element."

Dan laughed, "he couldn't get out of here fast enough. He said he found enough things on the clue hunt and he didn't want something like this named after him."

Amy laughed too, "if it isn't a new type of push up, he doesn't want it named for him."

Dan sensed her next question. "They're waiting for us in Athens."

The Rosenblooms, Dr. Korkora and her team worked diligently for the next two hours photographing, surveying and documenting everything. Dr. Rosenbloom stayed on the call with his two sons the entire time. Dr. Korkora said she would be happy to give credit for discovery to both boys jointly. Jake tried to shake off the recognition as specifically for Att, but he wouldn't have it; it was together, or not at all. Dr. Rosenbloom had already booked a flight to Athens for the following afternoon. Eventually, the trailer was backed as closely as possible to the site and using poles in a technique as old as the slab itself, they rolled the marble across the site to the trailer, running poles to the front once the slab had moved over them.

The team, including Att and Jake, loaded and strapped down the tablet. Dr. Korkora thanked everyone and she and her team drove back to the institute in Athens where, starting tomorrow, they would begin to examine and date the tablet.

As soon as the vehicles were out of sight, Att turned to Jake and both brothers started whooping and jumping up and down, clutching at each other like they had just won the World Cup. The four of them came together in a collective group hug, the excitement roiling off of them; this find would put the Rosenbloom brothers on the academic map.

On the drive back to Athens, Amy could feel the notebook in her backpack like a slab of marble weighing her down. Jake was driving, Amy in the passenger seat and both boys in the back comatose and near sleep. After the high of their afternoon, fatigue was facing them all. Amy decided it was time to tell her brother what she found.

"Dan, I found something today, too."

"What?" was his sluggish reply.

Amy proceeded to tell Dan all about finding the _M_ carved on the rockface, the crevice, their parents initials and, unzipping her backpack, she took out the plastic-covered notebook.

"Whoa," was all Dan could say. Atticus' eyes were as round as saucers. All thought of sleep forgotten.

"I think it might belong to mom." Amy said in barely a whisper.

Both siblings just stared at the composition book lying in cloudy plastic between them. They had run across a notebook of Grace's on the clue hunt and it was like having their grandmother back again. Finally, they both glanced up, eyeing each other. Dan gave Amy a single nod and she reached inside for the book.


	27. Chapter 27

Ch 27

Amy made to open the cover of the notebook, but at that moment, the car jounced over a particularly rough section of road approaching Athens and Amy lost her grip. The notebook slipped and landed spine-up in the crease between her seat and the console, a host of loose pages slipped out into the tiny space.

"Damn it," Dan breathed, grasping to retrieve them as Amy removed the notebook. The topmost item was a photo.

It stopped the Cahill siblings in their tracks. Overexposed and yellowed from age, the photo showed two people with arms around each other, smiling for the camera. Both had to be in their early 20's and judging by their short-shorts and tall socks, it had to be the early 1980s.

"Oh my God," Amy breathed. "It's mom and dad."

Both Rosenbloom brothers craned their necks to try and get a look.

"Back before they were mom and dad." Dan added in wonder.

"They're teenagers!" Atticus added, leaning forward in his seat to look over Amy's shoulder.

Amy flipped the polaroid over. "April 1981" she read.

Dan and Amy's heads were touching and they were both silent, just staring at this rare, gem; they had no photos of their parents left. The last one had blown away in a Paris subway when Dan and Amy were escaping from the catacombs during the clue hunt. This was a gift returned to them from their parents.

Though Jake was driving, he craned his neck one more time to get a good look at the photo. "Whoa" he said. "You two look just like them. If I didn't know better, I would have guessed it was you guys."

"Minus the 80's threads and feathered hair" Atticus said solemnly. He turned to his best friend and studied his face. Dan was staring, serious, at the photo. Both siblings were studying it like a hidden picture puzzle.

Jake pulled the car up to the hotel and they all piled out. They were eager to dig into the notebook, but first, they needed food and hot showers. Ham and Jonah had reserved the penthouse floor which consisted of 4 bedrooms clustered around a large living room, dining room and kitchen. It was swanky. Leave it to Jonah to get the fanciest rooms they'd ever stayed in. Ham and Jonah were well rested by the time the others arrived, so they ordered takeout from a local restaurant and had it delivered while the others showered and changed.

Finally, after they were clean and lots of local Greek food had been consumed, they all crowded around the table to give Hope Cahill's notebook it's proper due. Amy took a deep breath, looking at Dan and opened it. Inside were notes written in her familiar flowery script. Notes on Rhamnous and the excavation of the temple of Nemesis.

"She was here!" Dan said, excitedly reading aloud the notes his mother had written about the dig and the cataloguing process. "She must have worked on the excavation of this temple!"

"She was an archeologist for a time, when she was right out of college." Amy added.

Jake and Atticus had an inordinate interest in these notes and quickly scanned them.

"She doesn't mention anything overt about a stele, or finding any script of any kind." Atticus added.

"She must not have known the Linear B tablet was there." Jake mused.

Amy turned more pages. It was filled with notes about the various archeological sites Hope must have worked on in college. Jake and Atticus were fascinated; the others, not as much. It wasn't until they were a dozen pages into the notebook that they began to find non-archeological related items. The first, was another photo.

"Look at this," Dan said, smiling, holding up a photo of Grace, Hope and Arthur. It must have been taken on the same day as the original photo they found which Amy now had safely tucked away in a side pocket of her backpack.

They all craned around. "They all look so young! Including Grace," Amy remarked.

"Here's another one," Ham said, pulling at the edge of another photo. "Whoa!"

Ham tried to stuff it back into the notebook, but it was too late. Dan reached over and snatched it away from him.

Dan stood wide-eyed and the others tried to see, but Dan quickly stuffed it in his back pocket, turning red, but not before Amy had seen a glimpse. Their mother was standing on the very beach she had spent the day exploring and she didn't have any more clothing on than Amy had. She had artfully covered up her important parts with driftwood and her hands, but it was not a photo Dan wanted any of the others seeing.

"Never mind that one." Dan said, turning another page. Under his breath, he mumbled "Greeks and their stupid beaches."

"Yo, check this out. She was working on the clues!" Jonah said, returning focus to the group and studying a list on the next page.

Pepper

Vinegar

Mace?

Rosemary?

"Those are Madrigal items! She had almost all of them!" Amy shrieked.

"She just needed Barley, Copper and Lily!" Dan said in awe.

Jonah was thoughtful. "If your mom had this list of clues back in the day, she must have had almost all of them figured out by the time Isabel _offed_ 'em in that fire 20 years later."

Amy shared a glance at Dan. They were both thinking the same thing. It was no secret Isabel had come after Hope and Arthur in hopes of stealing a clue.

"I think this notebook may have been what Isabel was after that night." Amy announced. "Let's keep looking, but if I'm right, then this notebook was the very thing Isabel needed."

"And the reason our parents are dead." Dan added morosely.

A somber mood invaded all of their thoughts. Each of them was thinking of their own brushes with death. Jake and Att: their mother dead at the hands of Damien Vesper. Jonah: very nearly killed in the clue hunt and his little cousin Phoenix presumed dead while being held prisoner by the Vespers. Hamilton: Reagan held captive by the Vespers and, with a lot of guilt, Ham remembered the Holt's attempted murder on Amy and Dan in a Paris cemetery.

He shook his blonde head, "A lot of dead people over a silly list of items."

They all nodded. Amy turned more pages. It was then that she noticed the ink color had changed and it looked less faded. The flipped back to the list. It was in the new ink color as well.

"Look at this. Her notes on the excavation were in blue. And they look older than these notes in green."

"You think they were written at two different times?" Jake supposed.

"I do. I'm starting to think she had this journal much later than 1981."

Dan spun the notebook toward himself and began to riffle through the pages quickly. Pulling out lose items as he went and making a pile of them. Finally, he flipped to the last page that had writing on it. Her list was more extensive now:

Pepper

Vinegar

Mace

Rosemary

Tungsten

Silver colloid

Wormwood

Cedar

Cobra venom

Copper

"Whoa."

"Dude."

"Unbelievable."

Ham, Jonah and Dan had all remarked at the same moment seeing the list.

"They had ten clues figured out. Ten!" Amy remarked.

"No wonder Isabel came after them." Jake remarked. He hadn't been a part of the original clue hunt, but he knew all about it, and having ten of the 39 clues would have made any one of them a major target.

"You guys," Atticus started in his quiet, thinking way. "There's something here."

At the bottom of the page, there were several lines of what appeared to be circles, dots and swirly lines. All of them had spent enough time studying the newly discovered stele today to know Linear B when they saw it.

"Is that—" Jake started.

"I believe it is. I think your mother wrote something in Linear B." Att responded.


	28. Chapter 28

Ch 28

Jonah and Ham went out for some late-night American food and promised to bring back some McDonald if they could find one.

The Rosenbloom brothers instantly set to work. Atticus had his laptop open and both boys pulled sheets of paper and pencils from their packs. Amy's heart warmed to see them so focused; intent upon deciphering this code from their long-dead mother. They really were family now.

Dan grew tired of watching the blue hue of Atticus' laptop reflected in his glasses and he turned his attention to the stack of loose pages and photos he had removed from the notebook. He removed the first page. There were many more just like this one, all folded in half once, written on stationary paper; smaller than a sheaf of notebook paper. Opening it, Dan read:

_Dear Hope,_

_ I think I may have finally eluded them. I was followed earlier this week, but it was the same man who was on me two weeks ago. I disguised myself and left in a throng from the restaurant adjacent to my hotel. I haven't seen him in two days. I'll wait one more then I'll join you-at our favorite spot. I can't wait to see you. I've missed you. At night, when I go to bed, I imagine you are next to me, already asleep. It helps me somehow. Please be safe. _

_ I love you,_

_ Trent_

"Amy," Dan said, "come read this."

Amy read over his shoulder. "Trent?" She asked.

"Yeah, I wondered about that. It has to be dad, right?"

"It has to be, but I've never heard anyone refer to him as Trent." She said. Trent had been her father's last name, not his first.

"I'm guessing it was her pet name for him." Dan mused.

Amy picked up another such letter and read aloud,

_Dear Hope,_

_ I miss you. My time at MIT is lonely without you here. How goes the dig? Any life changing discoveries? The Vespers are keeping a close eye on me these days. I'll have to lie low. I wish you were here. I'd have you make me some of that marvelous Spanakopita you make. _

_ Love you forever,_

_ Trent_

The Rosenbloom brothers looked up, smiling and Amy and Dan raised their eyebrows in excitement.

"Love letters!" Amy and Dan said at the same time.

"Dan! These are dad's love letters he wrote mom!"

Amy almost started crying. This was the most parent contact either of them could remember. Jake reached over and gave Amy's hand a gentle squeeze. He knew what this cache of letters meant to them. She squeezed back for all she was worth. Maybe she and Jake should start writing when they were apart for their future children's sake? She smiled at him.

As the brothers continued to work, Amy and Dan poured over the letters. Some were dull, others were exciting. It was clear that Hope and Arthur were forever dodging Vespers or wayward Cahills. None were mentioned by name, but Amy had a pretty good idea it had to involve Isabel Kabra or Cora Wizard. Perhaps even Eisenhower Holt.

"Amy, take a look at this one," Dan whispered. He was holding it delicately, like it might disintegrate if he mishandled it.

_Dear Hope,_

_ I can't wait to see you. I was working in the lab this morning when a very flamboyant Asian man came to see me. Said he was told to come see me by Grace. Said he needed help with the molecular structure of refried beans. He wanted to find a way to heat them in the microwave without exploding. I laughed and told him that wasn't my field. He was quite insistent. What was that all about? Said he was your uncle, but as far as I know, Fiske is your only uncle. Am I missing something? I swear it's impossible to swing a dead cat without hitting six Cahills. What am I getting myself mixed up in?_

_ I love you, come home soon,_

_ Trent_

"Uncle Alistair," Amy whispered back to Dan. She sank into the chair next to him. A wave of nostalgia washing over her, imagining her father, young and in college being visited by a young Uncle Alistair, before his microwave burrito fame and fortune. How she longed to have a time machine and travel back to that meeting. Or any meeting, or any time when her parents were alive. She thought of all of the dead Cahills she had lost and the weight of it was crushing. She bit her lip to keep from crying.

"Yeah," was all Dan said in reply.

"You guys," Jake interjected, "you might want to come read this."

Amy and Dan's trip down memory lane was instantly over.

"We've decoded quite a bit of it with the help of a Linear B translator." Jake started.

"But, Linear B can't be translated directly into English. The best translation is into Latin, and then, I can take my best guess at which English word to pick from the Latin." Atticus said, never taking his eyes off the screen. He was still scribbling in Latin as he spoke.

"What do you have so far?" Dan asked in a hushed tone.

Jake began to translate from the Latin Atticus had written down.

_"To my children." _

Amy gasped. Her mother was speaking directly to them.

_"If you are reading this, then something has gone drastically wrong. Please know your father and I love you with every fiber of our being. You are the sunshine in our lives. Take this list, and destroy it. Never allow the serum to be made." _

Here Jake faltered. No doubt thinking of how crazy close Amy had come to dying because of that serum only two years earlier.

"_Yours forever_," he paused, sighing with resignation, vacillating between Amy and Dan before saying the final word, "_mom._"


	29. Chapter 29

Ch 29

As midnight passed, Jonah and Ham petered out and went to bed, Jake, ever faithful, refused to go to bed, but eventually slumped over, curling into a ball and was out in seconds, leaving only Amy, Dan and Atticus left to pour over the notebook. Atticus understood why they didn't want to stop. Each letter gave them a tiny glimpse into their parent's lives. What he wouldn't give for a journal like this from his mother.

Hope's decoded note was at once comforting and alarming. She knew someone would make the serum and she knew its destructive power. Dan had grown somber, staring at a fixed point on the wall opposite him.

"I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong." Amy said.

Dan spoke, but didn't move his eyes from his location on the wall, "She was talking directly to me Amy. I was the one who made the serum."

"Maybe," Amy said. "But honestly Dan, if it wasn't you, then someone else would have done it. Or, worse: someone would have tortured it out of you."

Dan just moved his eyes to his sister and stared at her in that same somber fashion. "How do we know somebody won't still try to do that?" Dan asked. "I mean, there are more than enough Cahills who know about my memory. Surely they're not all _kindly folk_." Dan said this last part with bitter sarcasm.

Amy sighed. She was worried about this part too. As long as Dan had the formula in his head, it could be extracted from him by force. "I don't think that would ever happen. We're in a good place Dan. The family is united, all threats are gone and nobody else has come to the surface. I know it doesn't mean nobody ever would, but we've got our own strong network to handle anything that comes along. You've seen how we all work together." She gave her brother a smile and reached over for his hand. "Plus, I'm never going to let anything happen to you."

Dan's face cracked the tiniest of smiles back at her.

"Shall we keep reading?" Amy asked, holding up the rest of their father's letters.

Both siblings read until all the love letters had been perused. It was clear how much their parents loved each other. One letter stood out to Dan.

"Amy, listen to this one. What do you think it means?"

_Dear Hope, _

_ I've decided to take a short detour on my way to see you to visit the adopted homeland of my namesake. I think it would make dad happy, God rest his soul. He was always going on and on about him. It wasn't until later that mom told me he only ever met the old codger a handful of times-boy, his stories made it sound like he nearly lived with the fellow! Oh well. Stories do grow with time. I want to see the palace and then I'll ferry myself up to you. _

_Can't wait, it's been too long,_

_Trent_

"My name sake?" Amy asked quizzically.

"What palace? Ferry?" Dan added.

Amy and Dan stared at each other with furrowed brows.

"I have no idea." Amy finally admitted.

Atticus, who had been sitting in silence for this exchange, slowly looked up, his eyes darting from side to side; his brain was in overdrive.

"Dan, do you have access to the Cahill database?" he said with utmost urgency.

"The database?" Dan asked quizzically, "uh, sure. Why?"

"I think I know who left that photo, and lead us here." Atticus said, sitting upright. He dove for Dan's laptop, tripping over Jake's sleeping form in the process.

"Ok, who exactly are we looking for?" Dan said, firing up the screen.

Jake, rudely awakened, frowned, squinted against the lights in the room, sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

"Can you sort these alphabetically?" Atticus asked, "Instead of by branch?"

"Sure, but who—" Dan started but Atticus held up a hand.

His eyes, were reading down through the thousands of names of former and current Cahills, singularly focused on his task.

Now Jake and Amy were both leaning over, glancing at the screen. Names like _Mozart, Shakespeare, Ronald Reagan, John F Kennedy, Barbara Streisand_ whizzed by as Att searched for his quarry.

"Aha! I thought so!" He said, pointing to one name: Arthur Evans. A Lucian.

"Arthur Evans was a Cahill? Why is that surprising?" Jake said, all sign of sleep gone now.

"Here, read this," Atticus said, passing the letter to Jake.

"Who's Arthur Evans?" Dan asked.

"Only the most famous archeologist to come out of Greece. Everyone in the field knows that."

Dan rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "not everyone."

"I think I'm missing something. What does Arthur Evans have to do with anything?" Amy asked, puzzled.

"He was important in Greece at the turn of the century all the way up to his death-in 1941." Atticus started.

Jake took up the narrative, having put all the puzzle pieces together in his lightning-quick thinking.

"Arthur Evans was an architect and archeologist best known for unearthing the Palace of Knossos. He was the first one to propose of a Minoan culture that predated even the Mycenean culture. It was a major find for the archeological community—and world at large."

"Arthur Evans was the one who coined the term Linear A and Linear B." Atticus took up the story from his brother, "He was a bit polarizing however. He had his share of enemies. He seemed to think that Linear B was a wholly unique Cretan language."

Jake took over, "But it wasn't. Linear B had been found on mainland Greece and even in modern day Turkey, at the site of Troy, and other scholars of the day thought it had to be a form of ancient Greece—a theory Arthur Evans refused to believe. He even went so far as to have one of his former colleagues removed from his post in Athens over the feud."

Amy and Dan were a mix of impressed, confused and alarmed.

"Our dad's letter implies that he was named after Arthur Evans, whom his father knew from his youth." Amy said, attempting to put the pieces together.

Atticus nodded.

Jake frowned. "I still don't understand who made that Cahill _C_ on Koldewey's mark at Olympia. The photo is obviously from the 1940's. It wouldn't have made sense for Evans to have carved it; he didn't want other mainland Linear B tablets being found. He would have wanted to hide it at all costs!"

Everyone was thinking trying to fill in the missing pieces. Finally, Dan spoke, haltingly, as if putting the pieces together as he spoke.

"That's because he didn't." he started, looking around at each of them in turn. "It was someone else. Someone…who…knew of Evan's discovery, but wasn't able to expose it."

Dan paused, thinking.

"Someone who wanted the discovery made, but didn't, or, couldn't make the discovery themselves."

Amy took up the running stream of consciousness, "so, he or she carved the Cahill C, knowing that some other Cahill would eventually find it, unearth the Scytale hidden within and make the discovery at Rhamnos."

Jake frowned, "If this person knew about the Linear B tablet back in the 1930's or 40's, why on earth wouldn't they make the discovery? Why know about it, but do nothing?"

Amy smiled wryly and made eye contact with her brother. Their mind-meld was happening. They knew exactly who would do such a thing and why. Dan sardonically smiled back.

Keeping eye contact with her brother, Amy spoke, "because war was breaking out all over mainland Europe."

"And as a kid, she wouldn't have been taken seriously." Dan chimed in.

"Or as a girl, even though she probably tagged along on digs with her famous great uncle," Amy said, her smile widening.

"And possibly mapped out this entire area with her burgeoning cartography skills," Dan added, his eyes twinkling.

"Plus, her focus was beginning to find the 39 clues, of which this wasn't." Amy added. Now glancing at the two Rosenbloom brothers who had matching puzzled looks on their faces.

Dan couldn't hold it in any longer, "GRACE!"

Amy laughed along with him. "It makes perfect sense."

"It does?" Atticus said, still very much puzzled.

"Think about it: Erasmus is given a photo from the 1940's which he kept without question from the long-time head of the Cahill family. No explanation given, just a mandate to find the mark. Perhaps Grace in her elderly years couldn't exactly remember where she had carved the C. Maybe she never really knew. She just found Koldewey's mark and quickly carved it, hiding the scytale within before she was discovered."

Dan continued, "Knowing it didn't have anything to do with the 39 clues, she in essence forgot about it until her daughter showed an interest in archaeology in college. She must have tried to steer Hope toward Greece and maybe even pulled a few strings to have her placed at Rhamnos. She stopped short of actually telling her what was hidden here in the hopes that she'd find it herself, outright."

"But instead, the next generation of united Cahills makes the discovery and the credit goes to two non-Cahills. Irony at its finest." Jake mused, starting to smile.

"I think you two are as much Cahill as any of us by now. We might as well make you honorary Cahills." Dan added, slapping Att on the back.

Amy glanced at Jake, who glanced back. Both stared at each other for a long meaningful moment, before Dan spoke again, breaking their concentration.

"I wonder how it happened?" Dan mused.

"What?" Att asked.

"How they found it to begin with. Did they trip over it, or something?"

Amy was only partially listening to the boys' conversation. One ear on them, the rest of her thoughts on that look. The one she shared with Jake. The one that she could feel all the way down in her toes. She held the power. She was the only one who could grant him Cahill status. Even if they married it wasn't a given that he would be considered a Cahill. Many Cahill spouses weren't given that right; her father amongst them. She also knew how much Jake wanted this. She glanced back at him, and he was studying the coffee table in earnest, not meeting her eyes. He must have been thinking of this too.


	30. Chapter 30

Ch 30

Amy had trouble sleeping that night. She stared at the ceiling, watching the city lights of Athens dance across it like some distant, faint ghosts. She couldn't stop thinking about her mother and father. What kind of life had they lead? They obviously had started dating in the early 1980's, but they didn't get married until 1992. Eleven years seemed like a long time to date. Had they had trouble defining their relationship?

_I wonder if mom ever tried to talk dad out of loving her?_ Amy thought. _Did they ever fight about the same things we fight about? Surely, she must have wanted Dad to have a normal life. _This thought made Amy inordinately sad, thinking of Hope pushing Arthur away, knowing that he'd run the risk of an early death if he stayed with her-if he married her. _What if she had been successful?_ Amy thought. Neither she nor her brother would exist. The thought of Hope and Arthur both alive but alone invaded her thoughts and that idea made her even more melancholy. _At least with the risk that love brings they had great moments of happiness. They had us,_ she thought.

At this, Amy glanced to her right. Jake was asleep next to her. His chiseled features more pronounced with the night shadows in the room. She studied his face for a long moment. This face that she loved so much, this selfless, brave individual would do anything for her—had done anything for her; he had nearly drowned in the North Atlantic trying to revive her with antidote before swimming them both to safety.

Amy took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She had made up her mind. It was time.

Jake and Atticus left early the next morning after a hasty room service breakfast of flaky pastry, aged cheeses, and fruit. They wanted to get to the University early where the team was to work on deciphering the Linear B stele. Their father, Dr. Rosenbloom, was flying to Greece as they spoke and would meet them there after he landed.

Jonah and Ham had to get back to the tour schedule. Jonah had a concert that evening in Lucerne. They said their good-bye's to Amy and Dan before a hired driver picked them up for the airport.

This left Amy and Dan with an entire day to themselves. Dan knew he probably should head back to his studies in Massachusetts, but he'd rather spend his time with Amy. They took public transit to the Acropolis. They had spent some time at the Acropolis on the clue hunt, but that had been five years ago and their time hadn't exactly been serene.

As they hiked up the tall hill to the famous structure, Amy broached the subject she had been pondering.

"Dan, I've been thinking." She started, "I think it's time we gave Jake and Atticus, Madrigal status."

Dan was quiet, so Amy continued. "They've more than proven themselves worthy of being a Cahill, and, I know it would mean a lot to them."

Dan nodded slowly before looking at his sister. "No complaints from me." He furrowed his brow, "but, I guess I thought you would have done this when you and Jake got married."

Amy blushed. "Well, there's no guarantee we will get married."

Dan rolled his eyes with incredulity before Amy continued.

"And, even if I did, it wouldn't help Atticus. Jake's mentioned to me a handful of time how fond I am of pointing out that they aren't Cahills. Well, this would solve that dilemma."

Dan simply nodded his approval. "Att hasn't openly voiced his opinion, but I think he'd love it; maybe even more than Jake. He is the last Guardian after all, and has been kidnapped, shot at, chased, stabbed and suffocated for the honor. I think his mom would want it too."

Amy beamed, trying to envision their reaction when they told them. This made her smile.

Amy checked her phone:

_Going well. Have mostly decoded. Dad arrived, he's in heaven! Att and I are being interviewed by Athens team. Very thorough. Probably won't see you until much later. Love you._

Late that night a bedraggled Atticus and Jake slunk back into the suite after pulling an 18-hour day. Amy and Dan had tried to wait up for them, but as it was well past midnight, the siblings had gone off to bed. They had resolved to tell the brothers the news in the morning. Amy could hear Jake enter their bedroom in her sleep haze and when he slipped under the covers he curled up right next to her. His hands and feet cold; cold enough to make her jump. Jake let out a quiet laugh,

"Did I wake you?" He whispered with light-hearted undertones, a smile in his voice.

Amy's groggy voice answered, "where have you been keeping those things? A meat locker? Why are you so cold?"

In response, Jake snuggled even closer, wrapping his free hand tight around her ribcage. "It's been a long day. I can't wait to tell you all about it. It was the most amazing thing, Ames. I've been on digs with Dad where things of value have been found, and the frenzy of activity and response is electric, but this, today, was next level. It was such a high!"

Amy smiled and rolled on her back to see him in the moonlight.

She took one free hand and placed it on his arm, giving him a squeeze, "I'm so happy for you. I want to hear all about it—tomorrow."

Jake smiled, "You got it," he said, kissing her gently.

Amy ran her hand across his bare chest, a tiny shiver traveling to her toes. She looked up into his expressive, sharp eyes; eyes she loved so much and saw pure love reflected back at her. She let her hand travel up and rest along his jawline as she studied him.

Jake's expression changed, "what?"

Amy's expression had changed and she looked contemplative now. She couldn't wait until morning, she had to tell him now. Propping herself up on her elbow, she turned to face him. Her long hair falling in a cascade over her right shoulder. "I want to tell you something."

Jake said nothing, intent and impassive.

"Dan and I talked today. We both think it's time that we made you and Atticus official Madrigals. I've wanted to for a while, and it feels like the right time." Amy paused, trying to see his reaction in the moonlight. He was still impassive.

"There's no official ceremony, just your name recorded in the Cahill database and—"

Jake leaned in and kissed her, letting it linger.

"Thank you," he whispered. "This is perfect."

"You're happy?" Amy asked.

"This is the perfect ending to a perfect day."

Epilogue

The remainder of that semester was an unforgettable one for Amy, Jake and Atticus. It turned out that the find at Rhamnous was the greatest Linear B find anywhere. After it had been deciphered and dated, then the press got involved. Both brothers were interviewed for archeologist magazines and journals. They were invited to speak as prestigious visiting scholars at Universities in Rome, Athens and even Oxford. The department head at Oxford even encouraged Jake to apply as a Rhodes scholar for graduate school.

When Amy and Jake returned to Cambridge in June, the Cahill cousins, including Nico, Nellie, Sammy, Amy, Dan, Jake and Atticus all gathered at the headquarters to officially welcome Jake and Atticus as Madrigals. Nellie said a few words of welcome as the only other non-Cahill to ever be granted Madrigal status.

"When Grace hired me as the kiddo's au pair, I had no idea when I was getting myself into. I've been shot, chased, dragged, stabbed, kidnapped, drugged and left for dead."

Everyone in the room looked sheepish; Nellie had not had an easy road of things since becoming a Cahill.

"But, despite all of that, I wouldn't change a thing. Because of you" She looked at Amy and Dan pointedly, "I've grown as a person, become braver than I ever thought possible, seen the world and met the love of my life." At this, she squeezed Sammy's hand.

"I, along with everyone else in this room, welcome you both to the official ranks of the insane—I mean, the Cahills. In specific, as Madrigals."

At this, Nellie walked over and kissed Jake and Atticus on the cheek before turning to Amy.

She took up the narrative where Nellie left off.

"Jake, Atticus, when Dan and I met you in line for the Colosseum three years ago, we had no idea what you'd both become to us. Atticus, I knew you were Dan's best friend, but you've become so much more than that now. You and Dan are like brothers now; you're the second brother I didn't know I was missing. We would have failed or died long ago if we didn't have you. You are an invaluable member of our Cahill family and we welcome you."

Both Amy and Dan hugged Atticus who was all smiles and fairly bouncing on his toes.

Dan spoke up next, they had arranged for Dan to speak about Jake at this event since Amy didn't think she could get through it without crying.

"Jake, ditto for you." Was all Dan said. Eyebrows raised all around the room, glancing between Jake, Dan and Amy.

Amy's brow furrowed and she cuffed Dan on the shoulder just as Dan's serious face cracked into a wide grin.

"Alright, alright, back to the serious stuff. Levity over." Dan said, Jake shaking his head in disbelief but with a grin on his face.

"Seriously though bro, we've needed you. There's no way my sister would be alive now if it wasn't for you. I know you love her, and that's good, because you've seen her at her worst, and that's pretty bad, we all have to admit."

Amy smacked Dan on the arm a second time and gave him a pleading look—get serious!

Dan nodded apologetically and continued on, "I guess what I'm trying to say is, we're both crazy-grateful to you. We're alive and whole today because of you. And Atticus. There are no two people alive today who deserve to be added to the family like you both."

Jake gave Dan a brotherly hug with back pats before turning to Amy who threw her arms around his neck and Jake pulled her in tight for a sustained hug. Eyes closed, neither one spoke but just savored the moment.

Someone started clapping and it caught on. Soon the room was applauding the two newest Cahills.

The brothers were all smiles.


End file.
